Friendly Encounters with a Superhero
by sLiCkEsT DiNo
Summary: Iris' mini adventures with The Flash, ranging from small meet-ups, to large problems. Set in season one.
1. I Have a Crush

**Hey there, random strangers! This story is just a bunch of connected "one-shots". They vary in length. I've been wanting someone to write about Iris' little meet-ups that she has with The Flash, but I couldn't find any, so I wrote my own.**

 **Takes place mid-season one.**

 **Enjoy. XD**

Iris was following her normal late night routine in Jitters after a long day. Cleaning up the terrible mess. Chairs were in random places around the coffee shop, crumbs and coffee coated the tables and floor. And then the orangey-red light flashed around the room, and everything was spotless. A split second later, Iris was on the roof, The Flash was standing in the shadows.

"You're late." She couldn't resist the gentle tease, an inevitable smile stretching across her face.

"I didn't know we had a specified meeting time." Barry laughed back, still hidden in the shadows, but unknowingly taking a step forward.

"So, you ever going to get close enough for me to take that mask off of you?" Iris playfully continued, she enjoyed her late night rendezvous with the mysterious, and yet, not-so-mysterious man.

"Not a chance."

"Aww, I won't tell. It can be our little secret."

Barry shook his head. "As much as I would love to tell you, I have to keep you safe."

Iris bit her bottom lip. "Why continue to blur your face? It's not like I know you."

"For all you know, I could work with you."

Iris' eyes widened. "Do you?"

His soft chuckle came out sounding robotic through the vibrations, but Iris could tell he would probably have the most adorable laugh.

"Nope."

Iris gave up, _for now_ , on prying at his identity. She knew the only way he would get closer was if her back was to him, so she turned around.

"So..." Iris continued. "Who did you save tonight?"

"Who says I save someone everyday?" He quipped. His voice was definitely closer, Iris thought maybe a couple feet away now.

"Oh cut the crap. We both know you can't help yourself."

"A kid walked out into the middle of the road." He said in a mock-defeated tone.

Iris shivered when a gust of cold wind blew on her bare arms.

"You cold?"

Iris jumped at how close he was. She could feel his breath tickling her neck. And then the smile erupted on her face. How could she _not_ love this. His heat, his soft voice, the security she felt when he was around. Iris knew he had to be enjoying this too.

"Just a little." She responded, peering over her shoulder slightly to see his face.

It was too dark to make out his features, but at least he wasn't blurring it anymore.

"So, why come to see me tonight?" She continued with her normal small talk, just to keep him with her a little longer.

"What? I can't come see my favorite reporter without a reason?" Barry replied, a playful hurt tone in his voice.

"I'm the _only_ reporter you know." Iris laughed.

"Okay, that still doesn't mean you can't be my favorite." Barry argued.

"You realize the definition of favorite is preferred before all _others_ of the same kind, right?"

"Okay, so out of _all_ the reporters in Central City, you are my favorite."

Iris grinned from ear to ear, and rolled her eyes. "Wow. Okay then, smarty."

Iris shivered again, apparently noticeably this time, because Barry took a step closer, his chest pressing against her back. He placed his hands on her arms and rubbed them up and down. He never made contact like this. The only time they would touch was if he was speeding her somewhere. Chills ran down Iris' spine, and it wasn't because of the cold. She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch.

"Thanks." She mumbled.

"Like I said, I'm always here to help you." It seemed like such a cheesy line, but his tone said he was dead serious.

A mischievous thought struck Iris. She spun around on her heel to see his face.

 _Too slow._ He was already in the shadows again. _Dang._

"Better luck next time, Ms. West." Flash teased.

"The formality is really adorable and all, but just call me Iris."

"Alright, well goodnight, _Iris._ "

He flashed away. Just like that Iris was alone on the rooftop. Hoping for just one more second with him. God, she couldn't get enough.

Iris had a hard time admitting it to herself for a while, but now it was pretty cut and dry. She had a serious crush on The Flash.


	2. Name Game

"Come on! I won't look, just let me take it off. Assure me that it isn't glued to your body, and there is an actual human underneath all that...sexy...leather."

"Sexy, huh?" Barry laughed, giving himself a once over before looking back up at Iris. "You want to take my mask off, but not look at my face?" He continued. Though he was blurring his face, Iris could still tell he had a large smile stretched from ear to ear. Barry let out a sigh.

"So?" Iris pried, taking a few steps towards him.

"Yeah...no."

"Oh come on!" She whined.

"How exactly can I be sure you aren't going to look?"

Iris frowned. "Do you know how much it is killing me not to know who you are? I mean, I actually might die. You don't want that, do you, Flashie?" She gave him the most adorable look she could muster.

"You're not exactly helping your case, Iris."

She rolled her eyes. "Please? I'll get a blindfold."

"I...no." Barry took a step back. "I can't risk it."

"Fine. At least tell me your name."

Barry stroked his chin in a joking manner. "Hmm. You mean something like Jimmy?"

"That isn't your name." Iris giggled. "Is it Nick?"

"No."

"Brian?"

"No."

"Oscar?"

"Oscar? Are you kidding me?"

"Hey, for all I know you could have a really weird name."

Barry smiled. That was true after all.

"Harry, Louis, Liam, Niall, Zayn?"

"For goodness sake, Iris, now you're just naming One Direction members."

"Hmm, so you know who One Direction is, good to know." Iris acted as though that information was actually helpful.

Barry rolled his eyes at how cute she was being right now. "I'm not going to tell you, so save your breath."

Iris let out a childish huff and turned to look at the city streets.

Barry stepped closer to Iris. He couldn't help but want to give in. Saying no to her was already so hard. "Alright, I'll let you ask one question about me."

Iris spun around. "Really?" She might have screamed if she was being completely honest with herself.

"But it can't be something that would reveal my identity."

Iris clapped her hands. "Okay. Uh, what is the first letter of your name?"

Barry paused for a second.

"B."

"B?"

"Yep."

"Hmm, Brody?"

"No."

"How about Ba-"

Iris was cut off when Barry jumped and then placed a finger to his comms.

"Meta? Where? Okay." Barry looked up from the ground and gave Iris a sad smile. "Sorry, I have to go."

Iris nodded. "Go be a hero…Ben?"

"No!" Barry laughed before speeding off.


	3. Mystery Man

Iris seemed distracted during work, constantly getting orders wrong, zoning out when people would ask her something.

"You okay?" Joanna once asked her when they were closing up, placing a firm hand on her shoulder. "You've been cleaning that same spot for five minutes now."

Iris snapped her head up. "Yeah, I'm just thinking."

"About?" Joanna pried.

"Someone."

"Someone? Ooh la la. Tell me everything." Joanna pulled Iris' arm towards a table.

"I don't exactly want to share this information with you."

"So, does this mean you and Eddie have broken up?" Joanna may have shown a little too much excitement in that question.

Iris' eyes widened. "Oh crap, I haven't talked to him in days."

"Are you cheating on Eddie?" Joanna blurted a little too loudly.

"Oh God, no!"

"So you're mind cheating on him?"

Iris blushed. "I wouldn't exactly say anything could happen between us."

"Oh. My. God! You have it in for Barry! Oh thank God! I thought you two would never realize your feelings! Go for it! Geez, I had a bet going with Elise that it would be sometime this-"

"Woah! Joanna. No. It isn't Barry."

A sad looked etched on Joanna's face. "Damn, girl. I figured you would be smart enough to nab him before someone else does."

Iris paused for a moment.

"Do you know any names that start with B?"

"You mean like Barry?"

"Jojo! Drop Barry for a moment. B names? Any come to mind?"

"Uh. Bradley?"

"Eh, he doesn't seem like a Bradley."

"Hold up, you don't know his name?"

"I mean..." Iris shifted uncomfortably in her chair.

"So you're online flirting with this guy, and nothing can happen between you two because, what, he lives in another state?" She guessed.

Iris looked around the room for a moment. "No. Not exactly."

"What the actual hell? You really need to clarify this with me."

"Lately…" Iris fiddled with her fingers. "I've been having late night rendezvous with The Flash." Iris' cheeks were red-hot.

Joanna's jaw dropped, she opened and closed her mouth a couple times but no words came out.

"Oh God. Please say something, Jojo." Iris whined, rubbing the back of her neck with her hand.

"You..." She squeaked. "You..."

"Okay, I'm going to get out of here before I die." Iris stood up and left Jitters, she pulled out her phone and posted a note on her blog.

 _Can we meet?_

Iris just couldn't help herself. It was like she was addicted to him, and couldn't go more than a day without seeing his masked face.

"Darn you, Flash." She muttered under her breath before being sped up onto the roof.


	4. Impulse Control

"Are you alright?" Barry asked, panic obvious in his tone.

"Yeah, I'm good, Flash."

Barry sighed, his shoulders visibly loosening. "Not our usual meeting time. Do you need something?"

"I just kind of wanted to see you."

Barry nodded.

After getting a chance to observe him more carefully, Iris couldn't help but notice the large gash in his sleeve, and the slight limp he had when he walked.

"What happened to you?"

"I'm good." His wince didn't go unnoticed by Iris, however.

"Joanna should be done cleaning up by now, meaning Jitters is empty. Let me get you cleaned up."

"Really, I'm fine."

Iris crossed her arms, unconvinced. "Okay, Mr. Toughy, at least humor me."

Barry sighed, and then sped her off the roof and into Jitters.

"Apparently your friend forgot to lock the doors." Barry softly chuckled, setting her down near one of the tables and then stepping back into a darker corner so he didn't have to blur his face.

Iris walked behind the counter. She grabbed a rag from one of the cabinets, wet it, and then walked back over to Barry.

"Alright, B. Get over here."

"B? Really?"

"It's the closest I got for a name for you, you know, until I get a real one."

"Man, I thought Streak was bad." _B_ walked over to her by the table, blurring his face.

Iris finished closing the gap between them, and then pressed the warm rag to his arm. Barry clenched his jaw. It stung a lot more than he thought it would.

"So, you have a team, huh?" Iris asked, trying to break some of the ice that developed from their close proximity with each other.

"What?"

"Someone talks to you."

"Oh. Yeah."

"I'm assuming you aren't going to tell me their names either?"

"Nope.

A few awkward moments passed before Iris broke the silence again.

"What's your team name?"

"Team Flash."

"Egocentric, but I like it." Iris finally got all the dirt and blood out of the gash and was able to further look at it. "Dang, this thing's deep."

"I heal quick."

"I'm going to assume you mean that literally."

"Mmhm."

"Well, I'm done." Iris sat the now red rag on the table and looked up at him, a small attempt at finding his eyes.

"You know I have a team that could have done that for me, right?" He teased.

Iris traced the lightning bolt on his chest. "But then I wouldn't get to spend more quality time with you."

Her fingers made their way up to his shoulders, and then ran down his arms.

"Iris?"

"This doesn't feel like leather." She joked.

"It's not." Barry stuttered, obviously distracted by Iris' hands that were now gliding down his chest.

"Oh?"

"It's a reinforced tripolymer."

Iris suddenly froze when she realized that she was practically all over him.

 _Impulse control, girl._

She took a step back and blushed. "I-I am so sorry."

Barry stopped blurring his features, he figured it was too dark now to reveal anything, and gave her a crooked smile.

"It's quite alright."

"You're not vibrating your face." Iris said stunned.

"I figured it was too dark for you to make out anything."

"You make it sound as though I would look at your eyes, go online and find every picture of every guy out there, and manage to figure out your name."

"Trust me, it isn't like that."

Iris furrowed her eyebrows.

"Then what is it like?"

Barry lowered his head, completely ignoring her question.

Iris took a step forward, placing a hand on his shadowed cheek.

"See you tomorrow, Flashie."


	5. You Know Me?

The Flash lay unconscious on the ground. The alley is where he would go if he was injured by a meta, and couldn't get to STAR Labs in time, no one would find him if he was in an alley. So that's where he sputtered into right before running into a wall, and collapsing.

Iris was watching him. Of course she was. She knew there was trouble in the streets with a new superhuman, and The Flash was going to be there. He won the battle, and when she thought everything was fine, Iris watched him unsteadily speed off, and then crash into the nearest wall.

So, here she was now. Standing over the unconscious speedster. Temptation said _rip off his mask_ , but Iris knew she shouldn't. Instead, she gently tugged off one of his comms, and planned on telling his team.

Iris placed it against her ear, and listened for a quick second. Or two.

" _Dude! Where are you?"_ Someone shouted.

" _He's most definitely unconscious somewhere. Pull up the tracker on his suit."_ A female voice retorted. A few clicks of a keyboard, and then Iris decided to pipe up.

" _Um. Hello?"_

" _Woah!"_ The man's tone definitely screamed surprise. " _Abort! Abort! Abort. We've been compromised!"_

This was crazy. Beyond crazy. Iris was talking to The Flash's team, who just so happen to know his identity.

" _Who is this?"_ The female added. Caitlin knew who it was, but Iris couldn't know that.

" _I'm sort of standing over The Flash right now, he's unconscious in an alley. I figured I tell one of you guys."_

" _You know of our existence?"_ The male asked.

" _He's mentioned you, yeah."_

" _Okay. We're on our way."_ Caitlin answered, trying to stay on topic.

" _What's it like working for him?"_ Iris couldn't help but ask questions.

" _Um. Scary. Especially when he won't keep himself out of danger!"_ Cisco said that last part loudly, as though Barry could hear him reprimanding him.

Iris chuckled. " _So are you guys friends?"_

" _Most definitely."_ Caitlin responded.

" _Wow. It's hard to think The Flash is actually someone under there."_ Iris mumbled, glancing over at him. She made sure not to look at his face. It wasn't vibrating currently, and she would like to respect his wishes. " _You know his name?"_

" _Yeah. Sorry, girl, we ain't telling you nothing."_ The man's humor was surprising for such a serious operation. Light-heartedness was nice.

" _It starts with B, right?"_

A choke could be heard over the comms, like someone spit out some of their drink in surprise.

" _Who-who told you that!?"_ Caitlin blurted.

" _He did."_

" _Did he tell you anything else?"_ Caitlin was going to most definitely have a talk with Barry when he got back to the lab.

Iris thought about it for a moment. Maybe toying with them a little would be fun.

" _Yeah. Yeah, I know your names."_

" _Excuse me?"_

" _Mmhm. He told me your names."_

" _You seem to be acting oddly cool about this."_ If Iris knew that it was Caitlin and Cisco, surely she would be freaking out about this matter.

" _Where'd your partner go?"_ She asked, when the male hadn't said anything in a few minutes.

" _He went to pick up Ba-Flash. You should probably leave now."_

" _No. I'll leave when he pulls up."_

" _Are you upset?"_ Caitlin asked.

" _About what?"_

" _With us. Surely you shouldn't be acting so cool about this, Iris."_

" _You know my name!?"_

" _Well, yeah. It's pretty easy to recognize a friend's voice from over the comms."_

Iris didn't think that saying she knew their names would give away that they knew her. She felt a nervous flutter in her chest.

" _I-I was kidding. I know you!?"_

" _What? NO! I. Um. Ba-Flash just brings your name up, and I've heard your voice over the comms when you two are conversing. That's all."_

" _Wow. You do a lousy job at not saying his name."_

" _Listen, you really should put the comms back on Flash, and get out of there before my partner arrives. Secret identity thing and all, and he doesn't have a mask."_

" _Yeah. Okay."_

Iris was bombarded with thoughts all day. Whose voices had she'd heard over the comms? If they knew her, she should recognize them, right? Unless it was true, and the female only knew because of listening into their conversations over the system. Which was creepy. She'd have Flash mute them or something next time.


	6. I Need You

_Whoosh._

"I never thanked you for looking out for me while I was…out." Flash said, after quickly speeding Iris onto the roof.

"Yeah. No problem, least I can do considering you save me a lot." Iris twisted her hands nervously. The thought of his team weighed on her.

" _Too much_. I save you _too much_." He added, and then Barry furrowed his eyebrows. "Are you okay? You seem a little off."

"How can you see right through me, but I have to look at that mask. No fair, B."

"Okay. We need to drop B. Go back to Flashie or something. Seriously though, what's up?"

"When you were in the alle-"

"You didn't look at my face did y-" Barry's eyes widened, panic flooding through every bone in his body.

"NO! No. I'll admit, I was tempted but I figured it would mean more if you took it off and showed me yourself."

"Thanks. Continue."

"I sort of talked to your friends." Iris blurted in a rip-off-the-band-aid manner.

If Barry's eyes weren't already wide from his quick scare, they were now. His heartbeat picked up dramatically. Even under the vibrations, Barry's face visibly paled.

"What?" He managed to choke out, backing up into the shadows.

Iris has never seen this side of him. The extremely nervous side. She always thought The Flash was one big ball of confidence.

"Funny thing, they sort of let it slip that I knew them, but I couldn't seem to place their voice. You going to tell me who they are?"

"No." Barry, almost instinctively, blurted out.

"You know I have a detective for a dad, which means I'm good at detecting. I'll figure this out, Flash."

 _She was so close, and that made Barry just want to go ahead and tell her, save him from the pain that was lying._

"You don't realize how badly I want you to know my identity, but doing so could risk your safety, and everyone around you. Iris, if a "bad guy" knows you know both sides of me, you run the risk of them doing some horrible things to you for my name."

"I can take care of myself."

"I'm sure you could, but how scared do you think your dad would be for you, or Barry, or anyone who knows you?"

"One day, I am going to get that mask off you." Iris said confidently.

Barry didn't respond, just stayed deep in the shadows, and that was Iris' cue to switch the subject. She didn't like it when he wasn't near her. For what seemed like the millionth time, Iris spun around so her back faced him.

"Did you get hurt badly?" She asked.

"From which incident?" Flash finally responded after silence drifted through the air.

"Geez, you really do hurt yourself a lot, don't you?"

Barry hummed in response, and stepped closer.

"The superhuman who had you unconscious." Iris clarified, smiling when she heard him approaching.

"Metahumans. They're called metahumans, and which time?"

"Now you're just messing with me."

"Hey! I'll have you know I have been unconscious four times since the last time we were up here." Barry knew which time Iris was talking about, he just felt like teasing her.

"Wow, for having super speed, you sure are slow. I mean the alley!"

Barry snorted, and let out a laugh, and Iris frowned.

"I'm assuming that laugh was because you _did_ know what I was talking about, and _I'm_ the one who's slow because I couldn't tell you were teasing me."

"Bravo, Ms. West." Barry clapped his hands.

Iris took a step back, just enough to close a little more of the gap that was between them.

"I'm fine. A few broken ribs, slight concussion, bruised spleen, fractured ankle. Nothing much. I heal quick, remember?"

Iris' jaw dropped, and she couldn't help but spin around to look at him. Normally, by the time she turned on her heel, he would be back in the shadows, but this time, he stayed. His face wasn't being vibrated because it was dark enough now, and he kept his gaze fixed on her.

"That's normal for you!?" Iris squealed, tears blurring her vision as his list of injuries replayed in her mind.

Barry's eyes were locked with hers, and he could read every emotion that went through her mind right now. It was the look she gave _Barry_ when she was worried about him, not The Flash.

"Iris. I-"

She threw her arms around his waist, and squeezed him tight. Although this was the first hug she's given him, it felt like she's done it a million times before. Something about him just felt so familiar, so easy to be around.

"Ow." Barry whispered, and then cradled her head against his chest.

"Right, broken ribs. Sorry." Iris lightened her grip on him, and then looked up to meet his eyes. She never looked at his face when he wasn't blurring it, and although it was really dark, and they looked more like dark spaces, rather than eyes, it was still nice. "Does your heart always beat this fast?"

"Speedster, remember?"

"Be careful, okay?" She mumbled into his chest. "I need you."

"Believe it or not, I need you, too." He looked down at Iris, and met her eyes. And smiled. A smile that wasn't blurred by his vibrations.

 _God, you're adorable._ Iris thought, and returned his smile.

It was a big risk to take, smiling at Iris, she could easily recognize it, but the dark and the distractions around her, including him, helped.

Barry didn't speed off when she released the hug, instead, he gave her a nod goodnight, and _walked_ off the roof. There was a slight limp in his step from his healing ankle. It was the first time he really looked human. Iris wanted to follow him down the steps, see what happened, but then a flash of light filled the doorway, and she knew he was gone.

"Bye, Flash."


	7. Things Come Tumbling Down - Literally

**See, this chapter is a lot longer than my others. I'm just not consistent with word length. XD**

Iris couldn't tell you exactly what happened. At some point, she was in the building with The Flash, and then somehow, it crumbled. _When did that happen? How did it happen? Where did it happen?_

 _Flash. Where was he!?_

Iris frantically pulled herself up from the ground, and gazed around the hazy room. She gasped for air, cried from panic, and coughed from the overwhelming amounts of dust flooding her lungs.

Debris surrounded her, but she was lucky enough to be stuck in a large enough space to move.

 _Where is he!?_

"Flash!" Her yell sounded like she had a cold, and was attempting a high note with phlegm in the back of her throat.

Iris' eyes scanned the small area, and as the dust settled, she could make out a fuzzy red outline, propped up against the wall a few feet away. Quickly, she scurried over to him.

He was unconscious, slouched awkwardly against the wall. A large slab of concrete pinned one of his legs at an unnatural angle. Drywall covered his suit, just like it most likely turned her hair white. Iris scooted up to his side, and patted his cheek.

"Flash! Flash, wake up!" Iris shook his shoulders, and before long she was screaming. "Open your eyes! Please!" There was no way to check his pulse to see he was alive, because she couldn't feel anything through his suit, and trying to tell if he was breathing was extremely difficult with how blurry her vision was from crying, and irritation because of the dust. Iris was in full-on panic mode.

Barry's ears rang, his lungs burned, his breathing was labored, and a sharp, terrible pain radiated up and down the speedster's right leg. Barry was just barely conscious, and had nowhere near enough strength to open his eyes.

"...ke up!"

Someone was screaming, it sounded distant, fuzzy, almost staticky. Barry's eyelids were like lead weights at the moment, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get them open.

A few thoughts crossed his mind: _What happened, where was he, and when did it happen?_

Something was touching Barry. Shaking his shoulders, tapping his cheek. Someone?

Iris.

Oh God, Iris. She was with him. Prying his eyes open wasn't a _want_ anymore, it was a _need._ Iris was going to need him.

"...ease! Open...eyes...ash!"

Iris' voice was clearer now that Barry was really focusing on it. It sounded nearer, less fuzzy.

Iris continued to scream The Flash's name, praying that a miracle would happen, and he would open his eyes.

And it did.

She watched as they just barely cracked open, and he lulled his head to the side. Barry's vision was beyond blurry. His eyes immediately began to burn when he opened them. And then came the coughing fit. Iris was worried that he might actually cough up a lung from how deep they were.

"Flashie? Hey. Hey, hey, hey. You're okay."

"Ir...is, 're hurt?" Barry grabbed her upper arm, worry evident in his tone and his eyes.

Iris gave him a sad smile, and a small sob of relief escaped her lips. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay. A little battered up, but we should be worrying about you, and getting this off your leg." She gestured towards the large chunk of concrete on his leg, and Barry winced. He hadn't noticed _that_ before. He was too busy focusing on his breathing, and Iris' well-being.

"Oh boy." Barry sighed, and clenched his jaw when Iris moved over to the slab, and started pushing on it.

After multiple attempts from both Iris, and Barry, to get the concrete off, they gave up, acknowledging that it was too heavy, and at the moment, they were too weak.

"Sorry." Iris mumbled, crawling over to sit against the wall beside Barry.

He leaned his head back, and took in a shaky breath, making an effort to hold in his tears. He needed to be strong for Iris, which meant no crying.

"S'okay."

Iris rested her head on his shoulder.

"I'm assuming your comms aren't working?" She asked, after noticing his earpiece.

"Yeah."

"So no contacting anyone. My phone's smashed, and your comm system is smashed."

Barry nodded, and let his eyes drift closed. It was just simply too hard to keep them open at the moment.

"Are you in pain?" Iris asked after gazing down at his leg, and how broken it was.

"Hmm?"

"Does it hurt? Because you're doing a good job at not showing it." Iris smiled.

"A little." He slurred, and then coughed slightly, which was followed by a small gasp of air. Barry was definitely worse off than Iris was, although both were not doing great."

"Sorry." She glanced over at him, and her face fell when she saw his eyes closed. "Flash! No, no, no! You need to keep your eyes open for me, alright?"

"Mmhm. I was."

Iris frowned. "No you weren't. Just talk to me about something. What's your favorite hobby? Any girls in your li-"

"Yeah."

"Yeah what?"

"There's a girl."

"Aww. Who?"

"I swore to protect her, and now we're both in this mess, with the rest of a partially collapsed building threatening to come down on us."

Iris' heart fluttered for a second, before she spoke. "This isn't your fault. We couldn't have known this place was structurally unsound."

"M'sorry." Barry mumbled. His head was slowly starting to drift to the side, and Iris was getting extremely worried.

"Me, huh?" Iris started, and then tilted Barry's head back up.

"Yeah. You." He gave her a tired smile, and then gazed down at the concrete. "My leg is going to heal incorrectly if we don't get that off."

Iris scooted over to the slab, and started observing it a little more.

"Pipe." He murmured.

"What?"

"Try the pipe, Iris. Wedge it under the concrete."

Iris nodded, and grabbed one of the nearby pieces of pipe that had broken off of the ceiling.

Even if he was doing a good job at hiding his pain, Iris could still detect the slight waver in his voice, and how tense he was.

"This is going to hurt. I am so, so sorry."

"It's okay, just do it." Barry groaned, and then bit down on his lip.

Iris glanced over at him, before pushing down on the pipe. The concrete lifted about an inch, just enough for Barry to get his leg out from under it.

The searing pain in Barry's leg only worsened the second the chunk of building was off of it. There was no way to restrain the scream that was most definitely bubbling up inside of him, so he let it out. Cried and heaved and buried his face in his hands.

Iris let a few tears of her own fall. She crawled over next to Barry, and hugged him tight. Never in her right mind did she think she would ever be comforting The Flash.

"Hey. It's okay. It's okay. We're going to get out of here. Just stay with me a littl-" It was Iris' turn to cough from all the filthy air she was breathing in.

Barry linked his hand in hers, and they rode it out together.

"My team is going to find us, and I'm sure your dad has the entire squad out searching." Barry whispered. Now that they were right next to each other, practically breathing the same air, there was no need to waste energy, and speak any louder than a murmur.

Iris nodded. "Yeah. Of course."

"What about you? Any guys in your life?"

"If I didn't say you, would you be offended?" Iris teased.

Barry shook his head. "Why wouldn't you like a guy whose face you've never seen, and whose voice you've never heard?" He joked. Iris chuckled.

"Well, first of all, let me make it known that I already ended it with Eddie, so the cheating department is all clear."

"Good." Barry felt a slight twinge in his gut. Why hadn't Iris told him about this? The _Barry_ side of him. It was weird, but sometimes he felt like he was competing with himself. Competing with his alter ego, if you will.

"So are you ever going to show me your face, or should I move on?" Iris continued.

Flash sighed, and then looked her straight in the eyes. He still kept his face blurred, but with his energy level slowly dropping from hypoglycemia, and his injuries, it only slightly distorted his features.

He avoided her question, because he was only going to give her the same answer, and there was no need to waste anymore strength on the same argument. "You've been spending a lot of time with me lately. How's Barry and your dad?"

Iris' eyes widened, and a look of guilt washed over her face.

"Oh God. I haven't talked to them, or checked in on them in forever!"

"Well, I'm sure they're doubly worried about you, now."

"Yeah."

Barry fell silent when he glanced back over at his leg, and then he frowned.

"You're going to have to set that. I don't think anyone is going to be finding us any time soon, and I would rather not have Cai-my team rebreak it."

"You and your team need to get in the habit of not saying each other's names." Iris smiled, an attempt at lightening the mood. Her face fell quickly when she glanced over to the broken, bloodied limb. "I'm not too sure what I'm supposed to do here."

"Okay, uh-" Barry gasped in pain suddenly, and clenched his jaw. "Ow! Let me know the next time you're going to touch it!"

"Sorry." Iris squeaked.

Luckily, Barry was a CSI, and knew basic anatomy, and first aid.

"Just start with the simple steps. Rip open the leg of the suit, and get my skin exposed."

"Okay." That was a pretty easy step, considering there was already a large tear in the cloth, and all Iris had to do was make it larger. Now came the more difficult steps.

"Now, is it a compound fracture, or a simple fracture?"

"Uh, which one is which again?"

Barry sighed. He wasn't irritated with her, but they needed to get it set. "If it was compound you would see bone? Do you see any bone protruding?"

"No. Nada."

He took in a deep breath. "Okay, any signs of ecchymosis?"

"Excuse me?"

"Deep purplish areas?"

"Yeah. Is that bad?"

"It will be." Barry took in another deep breath. "Okay, Iris you need to listen to me very carefully, alright?"

"Okay, Flashie you're scaring me."

"I'm bleeding internally from the break. Blood is pooling under my skin, and unless we relieve the pressure that is going to start building, I might develop compartment syndrome. That'll lead to circulation loss and all sorts of issues."

Iris started to hyperventilate. "Oh God. Are you going to lose your leg?"

"Iris." Barry's voice was gentle. "Listen to me. Focus on my voice. This is going to get gross. Look around, find something with a sharp edge. A shard of glass would work."

Iris nodded. Her stomach was doing somersaults right now at the idea of what she was about to do. A glass shard wasn't hard to find considering they were surrounded by crumbled building.

"Good, now this is the hard part, Iris. You said there was a patch of discoloration?"

"Mmhm." Just glancing down at his leg made her want to vomit, but Barry's steady voice kept her above water.

"I need you to take that piece of glass, and make an incision, that will relieve the pressure, and give the blood somewhere to go."

"I can't. I can't do that."

"Yes you can. You are an extremely strong woman, it's either this, or I lose my leg, and considering running is what I do best…"

"Oh God." She took in multiple shaky breaths, and then placed the glass on his skin.

Barry gave her a smile, and a nod.

And then she cut.


	8. Things Come Tumbling Down - Literally 2

**Okay, so I was rereading this story, and I came across an error I made. In chapter two, when Iris is guessing what his name might be, she says, "Hmm, Barry?" I DID NOT MEAN BARRY! I originally wrote Brody, and long story short, it was accidentally switched to Barry. I know that probably isn't a big deal to y'all, but it made me cringe, because if Iris even guessed his name was Barry, that would take away the blinders that she has on about who The Flash is. I mean come on, she already feels a familiarity about him that she can't place. Sorry, I had to get that off my chest. (This note isn't going to mean anything later, because I am about to go back and change it, but for those people who read it while the error was still there, I wanted you to know. XD)**

Barry bit down hard on his lip, enough so, that a small amount of blood dripped down his chin. All of his senses blurred together, and everything instantly became out of focus. The screams could have either been from himself, or Iris, but at the moment, he couldn't even tell you his own name, because of the overwhelming amount of pain that was taking over his consciousness, let alone distinguish voices. It wasn't long before the darkness took over, and Barry met up with the ground.

Iris was screaming. Crying. Gasping. Hyperventilating. When Barry hit the hard ground with a THUD, her heart stopped.

She sat there in shock, staring at his bloodied leg. The fresh blood pouring over the dried patches. She just sliced up The Flash's leg with a shard of dirty glass, without anesthetic, when it was already broken, and she just added more pain to it.

"Iris."

Iris was completely zoned out at the moment. She couldn't tell you how long she was staring at his leg, but all her senses were focused on it, so there was no way she heard Barry call her name.

"Iris!"

That time, Iris snapped out of the trance she was in, and looked at him. _When did he wake up?_

She shook her head repeatedly, and wiped her soaked cheeks. "Sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. So sorry."

"Hey. You did what was needed." Barry leaned forward, and tugged on Iris' arm, guiding her over to his embrace. She sobbed in his chest, which made Iris mad at herself. He should be the one crying, and it should be her who was comforting him, not the other way around. This only proved how strong this man was, and it backed up the fact that he was truly a hero.

Once Iris' crying subsided, things became deafeningly silent. No one said anything, no one moved, and it was finally Iris, who, after a good forty-five minutes, whispered something.

"It's getting hard to breathe." She mumbled into his chest. His once steady breathing was becoming ragged, as was Iris'.

If Iris noticed the silence that followed her remark, she didn't make it known, just continued talking, her words beginning to slur.

"Well, at least if I die, I have my favorite superhero with me." Iris couldn't dare look up at Flash's face at the moment. She didn't want to confirm that he was most definitely unconscious, because it scared her to death that he had left her, but then Iris heard his soft voice in her ear, and she smiled widely, or as wide as she could at the moment.

"I'm the _only_ superhero you know."

"That still doesn't mean you can't be my favorite." Iris played along.

"You realize the definition of favorite is preferred before all others of the same kind, right?" Barry let a soft chuckle escape his lips. His world was starting to become one big blur of color, but he kept it together for Iris. No matter how close he was to blacking out, Barry was going to stay responsive, up until Iris fell unconscious.

"Okay, so out of _all_ the superheroes, you are my favorite." Iris finished, shifting her body so she could hug Barry tighter. The memory of the similar conversation she had with him, made her chest flutter. They really did have something special.

"Wow, even Arrow?"

"Ooh, you got a point, B."

"I thought we agreed not to call me that anymore."

"Nah, you asked me to agree. I never agreed." Iris gave a mischievous grin. "So, do you know who The Arrow is? I mean, is it sort of like The Avengers where every superhero knows each other?

"Yes, I know who The Arrow is, Iris-"

"Is it-"

"And no, I am not telling you!"

"Aw, come on! It'll be my going away present."

Barry frowned. "You aren't going anywhere except out of this mess. You are going to get back to your family, Iris. I promise."

Iris' eyes stung with tears when she really thought about Barry and Joe.

"I never had a chance to say goodbye." She mumbled.

"Hmm?"

"Barry. My dad. I mean, the last thing I said to Barry was _I'm going to go meet up with someone,_ before you and I entered this place." Iris frowned. "What about you? What family do you have here?"

"My dad, my sister, my two best friends." Barry wasn't going to say _adoptive_ dad, and _adoptive_ sister, that would give too much away.

"Aww, you have a sister?"

"Loosely speaking."

Iris nodded, resisting to ask about his use of _loosely_. "Do they know you're The Flash?"

"No. I have to keep them safe, just like I was supposed to keep you safe."

"I'm sorry for you. Living this life must be difficult. Who do you talk to when you need to vent about your Flash duties? I have Barry, and I could not be more grateful for him."

"I'm...fine." At the moment, Barry felt like his eyelids were at war with gravity, his speech was starting to slow, and so were his words.

"So, you finally going to reveal yourself to me? What better time than under a bunch of rubble waiting for our inevitable death."

"Iris Anne West. I swear, you better stop talking like that!" Barry let his eyelids flutter closed, it was impossible to keep them open, just like it was nearly impossible to stay awake.

"I'm sorry." Iris adjusted her position, nuzzled her head closer to his chest, and listened to his rapid heartbeat. She could have sworn she heard it before, but at the moment she was too consumed by sleep to bother with that thought, along with the other: _How did he know my middle name?_

The last thing Iris heard were people calling her name, and the last thing she saw was a bright light breaching through the rubble, before finally slipping away.


	9. Hospital

**These next few chapters are going to be more** _ **mentioning**_ **The Flash, then actual meet-ups, but I feel as though we need to get a little** _ **Barry**_ **and Iris relationship grounded. ;)**

Joe was paralyzed. Locked in his place when he saw his children being recovered from the rubble of the building. No one knew. No one knew they were down there. No one knew it was them. The police station received a report of a building collapsing, and it was standard procedure for an EMS team to search for any people. Never in his right mind did he ever think he was going to witness his children being rescued. The Flash and Iris. What the hell were they doing in that building!?

Joe called Cisco and Caitlin to specially escort Barry to STAR Labs, and then hopped in the ambulance with Iris to Central City General Hospital.

"She has a broken rib, a few cuts and scrapes, and severe dehydration, but other than that, your daughter was lucky." Doctor Lambert said as he brought Joe into the room to see Iris. "I heard that The Flash was also recovered from the rubble? Do you know how he's doing? I figured since you were a cop, you might know something."

Joe shook his head. "I'm sorry, I wish I knew." That wasn't a lie. Joe had to choose between Iris and Barry to be with, and since Barry had Caitlin and Cisco, Joe needed to stay with Iris. He tried calling Caitlin, and when she didn't pick up, he tried Cisco. Neither one answered their cell, so at the moment, he was in the dark about his son's current condition.

Joe sat down in the chair next to Iris' bed, and waited for her to wake up. She and Barry were going to have a lot of explaining to do.

***

If Barry was ever asked to define Hell, he would choose this very moment. The searing pain in his leg, the infection, the nausea, the dehydration, the migraine, the labored breathing. Barry felt like he should be dead, and someone was playing a cruel trick on him. A bright light burned his eyes, when they cracked open, and immediately he recognized he was in STAR Labs.

"Cait, he's awake!" Cisco shouted, stepping closer to Barry's bedside.

"Barry! Hey, how are you feeling?" That was Caitlin's standard question to Barry whenever he woke up from taking a beating, or getting injured. It almost became so automatic now, that it didn't really carry much meaning. Caitlin always knew his response was going to be _I'm fine_. This time, however, he immediately pushed himself up from the bed, and said something different.

"Iris. Where's Iris!?" Barry winced at the harsh movement, and slumped back into the pillows. "Is Iris okay?"

"Woah, Barry. Take a chill pill. Iris was a little beat up, she was taken to CCGH, but it was you who really needed the medical attention." Cisco explained.

"I need to see her, Caitlin. When can I leave?"

Caitlin shook her head, and gave Barry a sad look. "I'm sorry, your leg is going to take a good six or more hours to heal. You need to rest."

"Flash." That was the first word that slipped from Iris' mouth when she came to. Not where am I? Not how did I get here? Iris needed to know if Flash was okay. Much like Barry.

"Iris, baby. Hey." Joe squeezed her hand.

"Flash is he...is he alright?" Her voice was riddled with panic, and slightly hoarse from a dry throat.

Joe felt a slight twist in his gut. He truly didn't know how Barry was doing at the moment. He was in pretty bad shape when he last saw him. Ghostly pale, blood everywhere. He made note to call STAR Labs again after his conversation with Iris.

"He made it out of the rubble." Joe said, smiling sadly as Iris's tense shoulders visibly loosened.

"Is he here?"

"No, his team escorted him to their...base of operations. He's getting medical attention."

Iris had a bunch of questions for Joe at the moment. She looked around the room, and then back at her dad. "Where's Barry?"

Joe's face fell, he hadn't thought about that. About Iris noticing Barry's absence. In any other situation, Barry would no-doubt be at Iris' side, holding her hand, and cracking jokes to lighten the mood. That's one of the many reasons why she loved him so much. _Love_?

"He's…" Joe paused, voice catching in his throat. _Make up a lie quicker than that!_ "...a little caught up at the moment."

Iris' eyes stung. She wanted Barry with her right now. "With what?"

"Nothing to concern yourself with at the moment, now tell me, Iris, why the hell were you in that building!?" Changing the subject was better than lying to her. Joe was always a terrible liar.

luckily Iris shrugged it off, and answered his question. "I was investigating a potential drug dealer hideout, and asked Flash to tag along for protection. We sort of _found_ the drug dealer, turns ot he was a meta, and long story short, he used his stupid meta powers, and knocked the building on top of us."

Joe was going to kill Barry.

Iris was quick to jump to her next question. "So, did you see their faces?"

"Huh?"

"Flashie's team, did you see their faces when they picked him up?" She coughed slightly from suddenly raising her voice.

Joe rubbed his neck awkwardly, and stuttered a little. "Um...well…" He really was terrible at lying, especially on the spot.

Iris' jaw dropped. "You know who his team is!?"

"No." Joe peeped, face going pale.

"Wait. Do you know who _he_ is!? It would make sense, you work in law enforcement, Flash helps ot with law enforcement. You know who The Flash is! Dad! Tell me!"

"Iris. I can't do tha-"

"Wait. Does Barry know who The Flash is? he's in law enforcement." Iris was really starting to work herself up.

"He...uh...you know what, I need to make a phone call. I'll be right back, honey." Joe felt instant relief when he managed to get out of that situation, and even more relief when he called Caitlin, and she said Barry was fine, just needed to heal.

Iris' eyes stayed wide even after Joe was out of the room for multiple minutes. If Barry knew who The Flash was, she was going to pry it out of him.

Barry could start limping around on his leg after about three hours, though Caitlin was against it.

"You really need to rest, Barry." Caitlin urged, walking behind Barry as he hobbled towards the cortex desk to sit next to Cisco. "Straining your leg is not going to help it heal."

"Cait, I'm a speedster. Us speedsters need to stretch our legs. We go nuts when we don't move."

He plopped down next to Cisco, and gave him a bright smile, then looked back up at Caitlin, his face falling slightly. "You called Joe, right? He said everything was okay with Iris?"

Caitlin nodded.

"I need to go see her." Barry hopped up from his chair, his wince going unnoticed by Cisco and Caitlin. He was quick to address it though, putting up a dismissive hand. "Calm down, I just forgot it was injured."

"Barry, you are such a dork." Cisco laughed. Who could forget they had a broken leg, and just stepped on it carelessly. Only Barry.

"Do you think you would be able to hide that limp from her?" Caitlin asked, crossing her arms.

"Guys, she's probably going to be more suspicious if I don't show up. She's been there for over three hours, and I haven't come to visit her with my worried _what-were-you-thinking_ speech." Barry gave his best puppy eyes at Caitlin, and then looked at Cisco. "Please?"

"Oh, Barry! NO!" Cisco laughed, shielding his eyes with his hand. "Don't use your puppy-dog eyes!"

"Ugh! Fine!" Caitlin finally gave in. It was true, Iris was going to get suspicious if Barry didn't show.

When Barry made it to Iris' hospital room, he took in a deep breath outside the door, before stepping in.

"What were you thinking, Iris!?" Ah, his signature line.

"Barry! You're here!"

 **As always, leave a review! I really do hate asking people to, it's sort of annoying, but...they REALLY do make a difference. Thanks. XD**


	10. Do You Know?

Barry stifled a groan at the approaching footsteps. Singh was constantly down his neck about the Demova case. Poor guy was found dead on the side of the road.

"Captain, I will have the fingerprint analysis for you in a few minutes." Barry sighed, keeping his gaze fixed on his work.

"Ouch, you're rejecting me?" That was definitely _not_ Singh.

"Iris? Hey!" Barry hopped up from his chair, and walked over to give her a hug. "Sorry about all the mess. I've been busy lately. How are you feeling?"

Iris waved a dismissive hand, and then spoke. "I'm a little achy, and no biggie, I'm used to you being messy."

Barry scoffed. "Wow. Thanks."

Iris shifted her weight, and played with her hair. Barry noticed the way she didn't meet his gaze, and furrowed his eyebrows.

"Iris? Are you alright?"

When Iris looked back up at Barry, it alarmed him to see tears brimming her eyes.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He cupped her cheeks, and locked eyes with Iris.

"I'm so sorry, Barry. I really am."

"Iris? What are you talking about?"

"I haven't talked to you in forever!" She blurted.

Barry's eyes stung. Yes, he had seen Iris on a regular basis, but that was as The Flash. He missed his one-on-one Barry and Iris bonding talks. _Barry_ hadn't talked to her in awhile.

"Barry? Do you think we could sit down and catch up?"

Barry nodded immediately, and guided her over to a chair. "Yeah, of course."

"For starters, Eddie and I broke up a couple of weeks ago."

"Yeah, I know." _Wait, he wasn't supposed to know that. Only The Flash did._

"What? How? Why didn't you say anything to me?"

Barry rubbed his neck uncomfortably, and chewed his lip. "Uh, well, Eddie has been acting a little off, you know, so I asked him about it and, uh, he told me." He wasn't the best liar in the world, but at least he could come up with something, unlike Joe. "I didn't come to you because I was hoping you might tell me yourself." Barry looked at his shoes. It was true, he was a little hurt by that.

Iris felt like a bomb just exploded in her chest. _Poor Barry._

"I didn't mean to leave you in the dark like that, Bear."

"It's alright, Iris. How are you feeling about it? You okay?"

Iris nodded, and swiped a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Yeah. I don't think it would have been fair for Eddie if I continued in that relationship with him. I just...wasn't feeling it, you know?"

Barry smiled understandingly, and didn't say anything else, just looked out the window.

"I'm not losing you, am I?" Iris whispered.

"What?"

"You're still my best friend, Barry. I need you more than anything in this world. You are my backbone. I'm not going to lose you because we haven't been in touch, am I?"

Barry placed his hand on Iris' thigh and looked her straight in the eye. "Iris, I love you. You will _never_ lose me. You got that?"

"You mean it?"

"I can't tell if you're joking or not? What? Because there has been some space between us, our friendship is just over?" Barry laughed, and nudged her shoulder. "Come on, Iris. We're inseparable!"

Iris smiled brightly.

"Come here." Barry wrapped his arms around her, and pulled Iris into a hug. "So, why have you been so distant lately?" Barry knew the answer, he just wanted to hear Iris talk about his alter ego. It always brought on something funny.

Iris stepped out of his embrace, and looked up at Barry, blushing profusely. He tried not to smile at how adorable she looked.

"If I tell you, you can't have the same reaction that Joanna did."

"What reaction might that be?"

"Saying nothing."

Barry nodded. "Alright, what's up, Iris?"

"Um, The Flash and I have a...thing."

"You mean like, romantically?"

"No. Well, yes. Or, actually, no. No. I wouldn't say it's completely platonic, though."

Barry had to remember that he wasn't the Flash right now, and tried desperately to hide his amused smile, but the blush that crept to his cheeks didn't go unnoticed by Iris. Did anything about him go unnoticed by Iris? He could get his hair slightly trimmed and she would notice the difference immediately.

"Aw, Bear. I'm sorry. Did I make you uncomfortable?"

"Hmm? No, no. What do you mean by _a thing_?"

"Forget it. It's fine. I know you don't want to discuss this. The last thing you want to hear me ramble on about is Flashie, I know you have a thing against him."

"Iris, I don't dislike The Flash. He's doing a lot of good for this city, I dislike you writing that blog and putting yourself in danger."

"You sound exactly like him, you know?"

Barry swallowed hard. "Do I?" He choked out. _Was Iris starting to catch on?_

"Yeah, you both are hell-bent on keeping me safe. I keep nagging him about his identity, he won't tell me though. Says it will only bring the bad guys to my front step."

"He sounds like a wise guy." Barry chuckled. "I don't think it's stupid that you hang out with him, Iris. Just be careful, alright?"

"Yeah." A recent question popped into Iris' head, and she had a huge urge to ask it. "Bear?"

Barry had gone back to his report on the Demova case, enjoying Iris' company. He held up a finger, and finished writing his last sentence, before looking up at her. "Yeah?"

"When I was in the hospital, I think dad let it slip that he knew who The Flash was."

Barry's eyes went wide. "Did he now?"

"Mmhm. Seems appropriate considering he's a cop and Flashie works with the cops sometimes. It made me wonder though, do you know who he is?"

Barry felt his breathing stop, his heart stop, his blood run cold. He was terrible at lying to Iris, especially when she was on to him. He always became a stuttering mess. Barry shook his head slowly, and stared at the ground. "No. No, I don't."

"Barry." Iris dragged out his name in a painfully long way, and slowly walked around his desk. "Look me in the eye, and say that again." She knew he wasn't capable of it.

Barry looked up at her, any attempt at a calm facade went completely down the drain when he saw the look she was giving him. "N-no."

Iris narrowed her eyes, and placed her hands on her hips. "You're acting weird."

"Pfft, I-I always act weird. Wha-what are you...why would you think…"

"Bartholomew Henry Allen. Truth. Now."

His cheeks were burning, and Iris eagerly waited for his answer. In all honesty, she expected him to say he really didn't know, but then he spoke.

"Ye-yeah. I do."

"Oh. My. God." Iris put her hands on her head, and walked circles around Barry's lab. Once it sunk in, she walked back over to Barry, and grabbed his shirt, she meant to look intimidating, but Iris couldn't help but smile at how adorable Barry looked when he was nervous.

"You know!?" She squeaked. "Is he on the force!? Do you work with him? Do _I_ know him? Or is he a complete stranger? Is he hot. I haven't gotten a good look at his face, but just his smile alone is breathtaking. Wait. Do you know who his team is, too? Have you spoken to them? Have you been to their base? Can we all three have a mee-"

"Iris!" Barry stood up from his chair, and walked over to the door. "I-I can't do this right now. I shouldn't have said anything. You weren't supposed to know."

"Barry I-"

"Iris, you should go."

Iris nodded, and walked over to Barry. "Sorry." She whispered, and looked up at him. She could swear there were tears forming in his eyes. _Why though?_

"You didn't do anything wrong, Iris. I can't tell you anything. I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you." Barry pulled Iris into a hug, and kissed her forehead. "I love you so much, Iris. I can't lose you."

A few tears slipped down Iris' cheeks. "I love you, too, Bear."

The moment Iris left his lab, Barry's knees buckled, and he fell to the ground, crying his heart out. He wished everyday he could tell her. Tell her everything. Talk to her about all the little things that weighed on him, that made his heart hurt when he came home. He couldn't. Iris' safety came first, her happiness second, and he would always, _always,_ be third.

As Iris descended the stairs, Joe instantly noticed her puffy red eyes, and ran over to her, worry evident on his face.

"What happened, baby?"

Iris wrapped her arms around Joe, and mumbled into his chest, "You should check on Barry. I'm going to head to Jitters to have a long overdue chat with Joanna."

Joe nodded, extremely confused as to what happened. He watched her leave, and then made his way up to Barry's lab.

And then he heard the sobs.


	11. Bottled Up Feelings

Barry didn't understand why he was breaking down like he was. Curled up in a ball against his lab door. When he heard the quiet knock, Barry sprung up from the ground, wiped his cheeks, and took in a deep breath.

"Come in." He managed to say without his voice cracking too much. Barry made his way over to his desk, as the lab door opened, and Joe peeked his head in.

"What the hell happened between you two?!"

Barry turned on his heel, and looked at Joe. "What do you mean?"

"Don't try to play this off, Bartholomew. I heard you crying, and I saw Iris crying. What happened?" Joe shut his door, and walked further into his room.

"Iris was crying? Is she alright?"

"I don't know, that's why I'm asking you!"

"She came here to reconnect because we've been gaining space, one thing lead to another, and she forced it out of me. I didn't mean to, it's just she gets that look in her eye an-"

"Wait. Does she know you're The Flash!?" Joe's eyes went wide.

"What? No. She _does_ know I know who he is, and that led to a bombardment of questions about him, and I couldn't handle it." Barry rubbed a hand over his face, and sighed. "I kicked her out. I didn't mean to make her cry, did she say anything to you?"

Joe gave Barry a sad smile, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Just that I should check on you. She said she was going to Jitters. Maybe you should make it up to her with some coffee."

Barry nodded. Things were silent for a moment, before Barry spoke up again. "Joe, I can't do this anymore."

Joe was heading towards the door to leave, when Barry piped up. He turned around to look at him. "What?"

"I can't keep lying to Iris. It kills me, Joe."

"You have to! It's for her safety!"

Barry ran his fingers through his hair, and walked over to his desk to sit down. "Sometimes I wonder if maybe keeping her in the dark is worse than telling her." He mumbled, and swiped away a stray tear that streaked down his cheek.

"Bear, I know it's hard to lie to her, it's hard for me, too, bu-"

"No, you don't understand, Joe!" Barry shouted, unintentional anger lacing his words. "You're not the one who's under that mask! You're not the one who has to hide the biggest part of his life from his _best friend,_ the person he tells everything to! And you are certainly not the one who has to deal with the pain of watching that friend slip away because of a bunch of damn lies!"

Joe was startled at first by Barry's outburst, but now all he felt was terrible pain. He knew keeping secrets from Iris was hard for Barry, but he never realized how much it weighed on him.

"Bear, you aren't losing Iri-"

"I am, Joe." Barry whispered, burying his face in his hands, trying to contain his tears. "I am."

"What are you talking about?"

Barry looked up at Joe, lip quivering as much as his voice when he began to speak. "My relationship with Iris is so tight because we tell each other _everything_. We know _everything_ about one another, but now? Now I can't tell her everything, Joe. I can't talk to her about the pain I feel when I watch someone _die_ in front of me. I can't tell her how it's _me_ who is out there saving people, that it's _me_ who has those secret late-night talks with her." Barry closed his eyes, and took in a deep breath, "Joe, what you don't understand is that as my life as The Flash, and my life as Barry Allen start to blend together more and more, my relationship with Iris is going to plummet more and more. Joe, I'm losing my best friend. And if losing Iris is what it takes to be a hero, then I don't want to be The Flash." Barry slumped in his chair, and pulled his hood over his face.

Joe was holding back his own tears now. He was just bombarded with all of Barry's feelings. Feelings he had no idea Barry was keeping in. He noticed the instant wave of relief that seemed to wash over Barry as he finished his last sentence, but something was still weighing on him.

"And the last reason?" Joe asked, pulling out a chair to sit down. Ready to have a more serious conversation with Barry.

Barry looked up from his lap, eyebrows knit with confusion. "What do you mean?" A slight shade of pink tinted Barry's cheeks.

"What else is weighing on you, Bear? Come on, I may not have realized how bad you were feeling about lying to Iris, but you're my son. I can tell something is still off with you. You got this far, now spill the rest." Joe had a very strong idea as to what Barry's last reason was, but he didn't want to ask in case he was wrong.

Barry looked at everything around the room except Joe's eyes. "Iris ended things with Eddie. I thought maybe I could have a shot with her now, but it wouldn't be fair to have a whole other life she didn't know about, and...you know…" Barry's cheeks were red-hot. It was embarrassing enough to discuss this subject, considering how touchy he was about it, but to be discussing it with Iris' dad was worse.

Joe gave him a sad, understanding smile, and nodded. "I was thinking about what you said earlier, and maybe telling her could protect her more, keep her prepared."

Barry shrugged. "It's fine, Joe. I'm okay now. I guess I just had a lot on my chest, and it sort of just came out. She knows the dangers that are out there right now, she isn't in the dark about that, but if she knows my identity, it would shine a spotlight on her for metas who want my name. I'm fine, really. I overreacted. You can get back to work."

Joe knew that Barry was only starting to build a wall up around him again after breaking it down with his sudden outburst. He also knew that when he said _I'm fine_ it meant nothing. Still, he decided against pushing, and left him after giving him a hug, and a reassuring pat on the back.

Barry pulled out his phone when it buzzed, and smiled at the new note posted on Iris' blog.

 _I cannot believe I haven't seen you since the building collapsed on us. Come get me, Flashie. ;)_

Barry laughed, and flashed out of his lab.

Iris stood at her usual spot while she waited for The Flash to sweep her off her feet. It was cold out, so she hoped he wouldn't be-

 _Whoosh_.

And there it was. Back on the roof.

Iris spun around on her heel, a slight tinge of pink tinting her cheeks. She smiled brightly when she saw him, arms crossed in his signature stance in the shadows.

"Thank God you're okay!" Iris beamed with relief, running over to him.

"Sorry I haven't said much for a couple of days, I've been recovering. How are you doing?"

"Ha! Are you kidding me? I didn't have a freaking broken leg!" Iris gazed down at his leg then, and started to laugh when she saw that he had no problem putting weight on it. "No fair, I wish I had super-healing!" She huffed.

Barry laughed. "It comes in handy. I'm serious though, do you feel okay? Any aches or pains?"

"You are really adorable when you do that, you know."

"Do what?" Barry walked over to the ledge of the roof with Iris, and leaned against it. She did the same.

"Get all over-the-top about my well-being. Barry does the same thing. It really is cute. I swear, sometimes I wonder if you two are the same person." Iris giggled.

Barry practically choked on nothing, and started coughing. _Way too close for comfort_. "Uh huh, yeah."

When Iris continued to laugh, Barry gave her a strange look, though she wouldn't be able to tell because of him vibrating his face, obviously. "What's so funny, West?"

Iris tried to stop herself from laughing by clamping her lips shut, and when that didn't help any, she took in a few deep breaths, holding up her index finger for him to give her a moment. When the giggling subsided, Iris wiped away a couple of tears from the corners of her eyes. "I was just imagining my clumsy Barry being a superhero. That would be hilarious!"

"What?" He rasped, subtly taking a defensive step back. Iris really was pushing at his comfort zone.

"Okay, you don't know him like I do." Barry mentally laughed at that. "He's so freaking clumsy, and dorky. It's really endearing, and freaking cute, but I just thought about him running around at superspeed, and crashing into everything." Iris broke out into laughter again, wrapping an arm around her stomach.

"Yeah. I bet that would be funny." Barry mumbled, unenthusiastically. Iris unfortunately caught the shift in tone.

"What's wrong, Flashie? Not in the mood for a little comedy?"

"Nothing's wrong. So, uh, how are you and Barry?" Yes, he was changing the subject to get out of an uncomfortable situation, but he _did_ want to hear her thoughts about their current relationship. He worried that there were a few things that Iris was keeping from him, and wanted to know if she would spill those things to The Flash.

When her face fell, he knew he struck gold. "You didn't tell me he knew who you were. So what, everyone but me? That isn't fair, B." Iris teased, trying to keep a light mood.

Barry, of course, wasn't having it. He knew when she was forcing a smile. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Iris bit her bottom lip, a nervous habit of hers that Barry knew all too well. "What...what do you mean? About what?"

"Something is bothering you, I can tell. Do you want to talk about it?"

Iris sighed, and ran a hand through her hair.

What surprised Barry, and even startled him, was when Iris looked into his eyes, and started to cry.

Her face crumpled, and she lunged into his arms, sobbing disgustingly, clinging onto his suit like a two-year-old seeking comfort from a parent.

Barry instantly kicked into protective mode, tightened his arms around Iris' waist, and pulled her closer into his embrace.

"Woah, woah, woah. What's the matter?"

Iris didn't respond, just kept crying, tears rolling off his emblem, and into the fabric of his suit.

Barry just stood there, shell-shocked. What could he have possibly said, that warranted this reaction from her? He ran his fingers through her hair, and rubbed her back. "Iris, what's going on?"

"I-I...miss my friend." She choked, voice muffled from being pressed up against Barry's chest.

Barry gently pushed her back then, extremely confused.

"Iris, what do you mean?"

Iris stood there for a moment, gripping his forearm like it was helping to stabilize her, taking in deep shaky breaths to calm down. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to break down like that, it's just a really touchy subject."

"I know I've asked already, but _do you_ want to talk?" Barry was a little surprised when she nodded, he didn't think she would share that sort of personal info with him.

"Can I just-?" Iris opened her arms, suggesting she wanted another hug, and Barry gladly nodded, and pulled her back against him.

"I don't know what's going on with him. He's been distant, and I know I'm not one to talk, but he ends our calls abruptly without explanation, he's been jumpy and startling easy, he hasn't been smiling as much, and I don't remember the last time he really opened up to me about his feelings. I _know_ something is bothering him, he just won't tell me. I feel like I'm losing him, and I have a feeling I play a part in building this wedge that's been driven between us." Iris tried hard not to let her voice crack too much as she spoke. "Anyways, it seems as though there's this bubble around him, and I can't seem to pop it. I just want to know what's going on with my friend. I love Barry, I don't want him to slip away."

Barry was glad he was able to vibrate his features, he didn't want Iris to see that he was silently crying. This is exactly what he was telling Joe. If only she knew how badly he wanted to tell her everything. Barry stayed quiet, he didn't say anything in reply, and Iris seemed to be okay with that.

So they just stood there in each other's arms, swaying slightly with the brisk breeze that surrounded them.

"I'm sorry I just threw all of that on you, I just needed to get it out."

"No, it's alright, I understand the need to wanna get your feelings out in the open." Barry had a huge knot in the back of his throat, and then, under his breath, he whispered, "I really do."

Iris looked up at him then, gazed at his face, trying to make out little features. She placed a hand on his cheek, and smiled when he slowly started to stop vibrating them. "Now do you want to get something off of your chest?" Iris' voice was soft and gentle, easing Barry into a more relaxed state.

He leaned into her touch, and closed his eyes. "Secret identities suck." He mumbled, and then reached up to place a hand over the one that she was resting on his face. "I can't begin to express to you how much I wish you knew who I was."

Iris noticed the way his voice cracked, and she smiled sadly at him. "You don't have to keep it from me, you can tell me who you are. I'm a strong girl, I can protect myself." She whispered, and her heart fluttered when he stepped closer to her.

"I have no doubts about how strong you are, Iris. It has nothing to do with that. It has to do with how strong these criminals are, these metahumans who are too much for even _me_ to handle sometimes."

She stroked his cheek with her thumb. "You know you can always talk to me, right? If you ever feel like something is bothering you. I get that this is a hard life you're balancing."

"You are such an amazing person, you know that?"

"I could say the same about you a million times over."

"One day I'm going to take this mask off, one day we will have a face-to-face conversation with each other like normal people, everything out on the table."

Iris smiled at him again. He was so precious. She couldn't help but glance down at his lips, or rather the pinkish blur, and then back up to search for his eyes.

"So, what's going on in your life?" Iris was doing what she always did when she wanted to spend more time with him: asking more questions.

Barry shrugged, and then felt his eyes start to sting. He stared at the ground, slowly shaking his head. "It's a complicated situation that I can't really get into. It's still along the lines of _secret identities suck._ "

"What about your team? Can you talk to them about it?"

"They only help so much." Cisco and Caitlin could only comfort him so much, but he really only wanted to talk to Iris. It was always her that he would open up to.

"I'm so sorry you have to go through this. You know if you can't talk to me about it, Barry is a really good person to talk to. He's great at that kind of stuff, especially listening, and since he already knows who you are…"

Barry wanted to laugh. Gee, he should talk to Barry!

"Iris, I wanted to quickly address the situation you're going through with Barry. I think you should probably talk to him about it, tell him how you're feeling. How are you supposed to resolve your problems if he doesn't know what's going on between you two?" Okay, yeah, he was changing the topic.

"I mean, we already talked about how we're gaining some space, but it sort of got cut short…" Iris stopped talking then, and swiped a strand of hair behind her ear. "Things are really rough between us, I have no idea why. Okay, scratch that, I have a small idea why, but nothing that should be driving a wedge between us."

"Look at us, struggling with sharing our feelings." Barry laughed softly, and then pulled Iris into another hug. He always felt comforted when she was near him, especially when they hugged.

"Just know that all of my actions and intentions are for your well-being, alright?" Barry whispered, chin resting on Iris' head. He figured Iris wouldn't understand what he meant by that, but hopefully she kept that in mind when the inevitable identity reveal rolled around.

 _ **Ugh! Feelings! JUST TELL HER! XD**_


	12. Be Careful What You Say

"Dammit, dammit, dammit!" Joe hollered, slamming a fist down on his desk. His blood boiled with rage at the report pulled up on his screen. If Joe wasn't so civilized, he would've chucked the computer, and all other contents on his desk, across the room.

Eddie winced when he heard the loud crack of fist against wood, and the curses Joe was shouting. Considering the current situation the precinct was in, that meant nothing good. Besides, when did it mean anything good on a _normal_ day, anyways? Eddie quickly stood from his desk, and made his way over to check in on Joe, bracing himself for the news that was only going to worsen his, already stressful, day.

"Joe?" Eddie spoke, stepping cautiously towards the older man. He made note of how stiff his jaw was, hands clenching and unclenching. Joe's gaze was fixed on the bright computer screen, a murderous stare that made Eddie's throat want to close up. "What happened?"

"The CSI just sent me the report on the analysis of the blood sample we found by Miller and Creek." Joe growled.

At that moment, Eddie completely understood what had Joe so upset, and his gut churned with unease at the reaction it elicited from the detective. That was their only lead, and based on the way Joe was crushing his coffee cup, sending the hot contents spilling onto his hand, he knew nothing good came from it. Still, Eddie needed to know for sure.

"And?"

Joe looked up at Eddie with a menacing glare, one that said _isn't it painfully obvious?_

"And it came back as inconclusive." Any composure Joe had been sporting went completely down the drain the moment he'd spoken those words, making the situation ten times more real. He swiped a forceful arm across his desk, sending all papers, and any other items, including his favorite mug, and a photo of Barry and Iris, flying onto the ground.

Eddie made a painful face as the mug shattered, and papers scattered around his area. "Okay, inconclusive is better than the blood turning out to be an animal, or someone else's, right? It means the CSI just needs to test it again, and see if he can get a match. There's still a chance it could be his, don't lose all hope yet, Joe." Eddie tried his best at finding a positive side to this terrible mess that had been created over the past week. "We'll find him."

Joe's expression went from hard, and furious, to weak, and shaky. He swiped a hand down his face, and took in a deep breath. "I don't know what I'm going to tell Iris, Eddie. I have yet to tell her, hoping we could find him before then, but now that it's been over a week…I can't bear to think of the expression that is going to be on her face when I give her the news."

Eddie nodded understandingly, and walked around the mess that Joe created on the floor, to give him a reassuring pat on the back. "I can tell her if you want." He offered.

To Eddie's surprise, Joe shook his head, and stood up. "It needs to be me, Eddie. Thanks for the offer, though." Joe walked out to the main foyer of the precinct, and stared at the elevator, it had been the last place he'd seen Barry.

" _You know she didn't mean it, Bear. Just give her some space."_

" _No, Joe, that's just it, she did."_

" _Barry, where are you going?"_

" _I can't be here right now."_

" _Home?"_

" _No. Iris is there. I think I'm just going to go for a run, clear my head."_

" _Okay, stay safe."_

" _Yeah."_

Joe crossed his arms over his chest, still staring at the elevator, he mumbled under his breath, "Where are you, Barry?"

 **EIGHT DAYS PRIOR**

Iris was furious. Beyond furious. It had been over a week since her last talk with Barry, since he kicked her out of his lab, and Iris was fed up. She knew he was avoiding her. When Iris called him, her phone would ring twice before it went to voicemail. She would try to visit the precinct, and when she caught Barry's eye, he would break the eye-contact, and scurry up to his lab. He'd been coming home late, later than usual, and going to work early. Iris never got a chance to talk to him. She was angry. She knew Barry was hiding something, bearing the weight of a secret, and it offended Iris that he hadn't told her.

So when Iris stepped out of the elevator of the precinct, she had the full intention of prying it out of him.

Joe's eye caught his daughter's and he waved her over. Iris didn't want to talk to her dad at the moment, she wanted to bust into Barry's lab and talk to _him_ , still she walked over to Joe, and gave him a smile.

"Hey, baby, what brings you here?" Joe asked, standing from his chair to give her a hug.

"I want to talk to Barry. He's up in his lab, right?"

"He said he was busy right now, and didn't want to be bothe-"

"I don't give a damn! He can fit five minutes into his day to talk to his best friend, he's done it for three years!"

Joe sighed, "You can try, though his door might be locked."

"Not for long." Iris growled, and marched up the stairs.

"Barry?" Iris knocked on his lab door, and then slowly opened it, peeping her head in. At first, she didn't notice him, but when Iris heard his locker shut, she stepped in, and saw Barry, pulling a shirt over his head. What Iris didn't expect to see, was the deep purple bruise that feathered up his rib cage. Acting on instinct, Iris slammed the lab door shut, and bolted over to Barry, who just now noticed her, any anger she might have been feeling, immediately turned into alarm.

"Iris, hey." He said awkwardly, forcing a smile.

"Barry! What the hell happened to you!?" By the time she managed to speak, Barry had already gotten the shirt on, and was heading back over to his desk. Iris stopped him, grabbing Barry's wrist, and spinning him around.

"Wha-what...do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Allen. I saw it." Iris pointed at Barry's side.

"Oh that? That's nothing, I'm fine." Barry waved a dismissive hand, breaking into a cold sweat.

"Let me see it, and I'll determine whether it's _nothing_."

"Iris-"

"Bartholomew." Iris dragged out his name in a painfully long way, and Barry sighed.

"Really, I'm fine."

"Then you shouldn't have a problem with me looking." Without warning, Iris grabbed the hem of his shirt, and rolled it up halfway, gasping when she saw the bruise up close. Iris reached out, and gently ran her fingers along it, feeling how swollen it was. Shades of deep purples, yellows, and browns speckled his side. Tears pricked at her eyes, and she looked up to meet Barry's, taking note of the blush that had creeped to his cheeks.

Iris also noticed just how tired Barry looked. His hair wasn't styled like it normally was, sweeped up in that adorable way he managed, instead it was sloppily gelled back, strands of it falling in front of his eyes, which had light bags under them. Yet, somehow, it added a, dare she say it, hotness to him that Iris had never seen before.

"Oh my God." She breathed, "What happened to you!?"

Barry gave her a nervous smile, and tensed when Iris pulled his shirt over his head to get a better look at it.

"It's nothing, really."

"Barry, this isn't nothing!" Iris squealed, dropping his sweater by their feet and touching the bruise again. When Iris looked back up to meet Barry's eyes, anger bubbled up inside her. "Who did this to you, Bear?"

Barry grabbed her wrist suddenly, startling Iris, and pulled her hand away from his abdomen, continuing to hold her when he looked straight into her eyes. "Iris, I'm okay. It was just some stupid kid."

"What!?"

"I was walking home, he jumped me, wanting my money, and when I refused, he landed some kicks on me before I managed to fight back."

"Do you even realize what he did to you!?"

"Hey, if you think this is bad, you should see the other guy." Barry laughed, but Iris found no amusement in this situation. _Her Barry, fighting his way out of a mugging?_

"Did you call the police?"

"I am the police."

Iris slapped Barry's shoulder. "You know what I mean!"

Barry shrugged, "He was just some punk, I handled it."

"You _handled it?_ Barry last time I checked you could hardly throw a punch!"

"I've learned some things."

Iris was astounded at how nonchalant Barry was being. "You're acting like you get hurt this bad on a regular basis, Barry! This isn't something to just _shrug_ off!"

"Maybe it does happen to me on a regular basis." Barry smirked, walking back over to his desk, still shirtless.

"This isn't funny, Barry! You could have broken something! What if you broke a rib and it punctures a lung? Or you could be bleeding internally! Did you even see a doctor?"

"Iris!" Barry spun around, and grabbed her shoulders, bringing his face close to hers. He thought the proximity would help it get through to her that he was okay, but now all he was doing was causing the both of them to blush. He was still shirtless, and he had his chest pressed to hers. What would that even look like to someone who randomly walked in? Barry shook his thoughts away, and met Iris' eyes. "I'm fine. No broken ribs, no internal bleeding, just a nasty bruise that looks worse than it is, alright?"

Iris started to cry, and Barry cupped her cheeks with his hands. "It's okay, Iris." He placed a kiss on her forehead, and walked over to put his shirt back on, wincing when he had to bend over.

"Barry, why didn't you tell me what happened? Why haven't you been talking to me? I know something is going on with you, you've been distant. I just want to know why."

"Iris, I haven't been dista-"

"Yes you have!" She snapped, anger replacing sadness. "This is a perfect example! You get mugged and you don't think that's something you should tell your best friend, Barry!?"

Barry sighed, running a hand through his hair. He didn't have the strength to deal with her outbursts right now. It's the very reason he hadn't been talking to her very much, that and because it always took a Flash-related turn, and he didn't want to have to kick her out again.

"First of all, I wasn't mugged, it was an attempted muggi-"

"Oh don't give me that bullshit, Barry! You ended up with _that_!"

Barry was about to argue, when his phone rang. Iris took in an aggravated breath, and Barry pulled it out.

"Now really isn't the best time, man." Barry sighed, trying to contain his snippiness.

" _Sorry, I know you're busy, but there's a riot going on down by where the STAR Labs extension warehouse is being constructed, maybe The Flash could go down there and try and clear things up."_ Cisco's voice sounded small, like he was worried about upsetting Barry.

He and Caitlin had been very aware of the stress Barry was under recently from the Demova case, and Iris, so they tried not to disturb him too much by cancelling test days for him.

"Yeah, alright, bye."

Barry looked up from his phone with a sheepish look on his face.

"Barry." Iris warned, knowing what he was about to say.

"Iris I-"

"Don't say it. You can wait _five_ minutes!"

"-have to go." Barry finished, and turned to head for the door, only to be stopped once more when Iris stepped in front of him, and placed a hand on his chest.

"Can't we talk!?"

Barry rubbed his neck anxiously, staring at the door, and then her. "I need to do this, Iris. It's urgent."

"It always is, isn't it?" Iris growled, crossing her arms.

"Iris, it isn't like that!"

"Yes it is! At least tell me what you're doing!"

Barry shook his head and headed for the lab door again, ignoring Iris. He felt extremely guilty, but it was either the riot or Iris' feelings, and it pained him to say it, but the riot was more important at the moment.

"Barry!"

"Iris, we can talk when I get back. I'm sorry." With that, Barry headed down the stairs, shooting Iris an apologetic look.

Iris was shocked, standing frozen at the top step. She didn't understand what had Barry acting so strange, why he couldn't tell her. It was a simple question _where are you going?_ Why couldn't he tell her a damn thing!? Did he know the pain he was causing her? Was Barry deliberately trying to make Iris feel this way? She felt like her whole world had shattered as she watched him step into that elevator. Iris wasn't having it. She was done with all of his nonsense.

Joe saw everything. He watched sadly from his desk. Even from afar, he could tell what was playing out. The tears that brimmed Iris' eyes, the hesitant looks Barry kept sending her as he walked off. Joe got up from his chair, and walked over to his daughter.

"You alright, babe?"

"No, I'm not okay!" She snapped, voice hitching in her throat. "Dad, what is going on with him, why isn't he telling me anything? It's liking he's shutting me out, and I have no idea why."

Joe let out a breath of air, and placed an understanding hand on her shoulder.

"He's just going through some... _stuff..._ right now. Give him some time."

Iris snapped her head up and glared at Joe. "Time!? That's all I've been giving him! He's been like this for almost a year now, everyday distancing himself from me a little more, and the space is suffocating! I need my Barry Allen back in my life." Iris' eyes dawned with a look of realization. "Ever since that damn coma." She whispered, the memory of pre-coma Barry hitting her like a ton of bricks. "He used to always smile, used to light up like a Christmas tree when he saw me, share every little feeling with me, ramble nerdy things to me, call me late at night to have talks about random things that were on our mind."

"He's just struggling to come to grips with things, Iris. He missed _nine months_ of his life."

"Then why doesn't he talk to _me_ about it? Why does he insist on keeping it to himself? Did _you_ know he was mugged, or rather someone _tried_ to mug him. Barry said he managed to fight him off, _our_ Barry fighting off a mugger! I only found out about it because I caught him while he was putting a shirt on, and saw the nasty bruise he had as a souvenir from that little punk. He didn't report it or anything, just shrugged it off like it was a normal thing!" Iris turned to look at Joe, and was surprised when she saw a small smile on his face. "What is so damn funny!? You and Barry act like he couldn't have _died_ if things got out of hand!"

Joe shrugged, "Barry is tougher than he lets on."

"And what is _that_ supposed to mean? That under that skinny body he's Hulk?"

Joe didn't have time to answer, before the elevator dinged, and Barry walked out. Iris didn't think it was possible, but somehow, in the five or so minutes he was gone, Barry managed to come back looking even more worn out.

"Do you know where he went?" Iris asked Joe, looking up at him hoping to get an answer.

Joe knew what it most likely was, and his idea was confirmed when the news caught his ear.

" _And just now, The Flash has done it again. Or resident speedster just calmed down a riot happening at the construction site of the new STAR Labs warehouse. If you're listening to this, Flash, we just want to give you a huge thanks, you make our city a safer place. Moving on to-"_

Barry smiled up at the television, and mouthed a _you're welcome_ before turning around, and ramming right into Iris.

"Woah! Sorry."

"Now are you going to tell me where the hell you went?"

"Iris you make it sound like I've gone to do drugs or something. Relax."

"For all I know you could've! I hardly know you anymore, Barry!"

"Iris-"

"No, you're going to listen to me. I understand that missing nine months of your life is difficult, and I get that, but that is what I'm here for. Do you even realize that up until today I hadn't heard your voice in over a week?"

Barry felt his eyes starting to sting with tears, and he pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to keep them in.

"You're supposed to be my _best_ friend, Barry!"

At that, Barry felt his blood boil. "I _am_ your best friend!"

"Really?" Iris scoffed, "Because right now it doesn't feel like it."

"Iris, I'm sorry t-"

"Sorry about what? Sorry that you're keeping something from me? Sorry that you won't talk to me anymore? Sorry that I can't even consider us to be close anymore? Which one? All of the above sounds about right." Iris growled. She didn't want to create such a big scene in front of the entire precinct, but she would take getting to talk to Barry in front of a bunch of people, to not talking at all. "So go right ahead, Barry, explain to me what's been going on, I'm listening, and it better be a good reason or I'll walk straight into that elevator."

Barry felt his mouth go dry. There was no way he could come up with a believable lie that quickly, he sent Joe a panicked glance, only to receive one from the older man.

"Iris, I...I don't know what to tell you. I didn't think it meant so much to you that I spend every second of my day with you." Barry didn't know when he suddenly started making snippy comments at Iris, after all, she was right.

"I'm not asking for every second with you, dammit, and you know that, I'm just asking for you to talk to me again, to act like you did before that godforsaken coma changed you!"

"It didn't change me, Iris. I'm still Barry." Barry felt his chest tighten at her words.

"Yeah, well you aren't my Barry." Iris' eyes grew wide the moment she spoke those words, and she felt like her world collapsed in on her, when she watched the tears that had formed in Barry's eyes, spill over.

Barry felt like he'd been hit with a ton of bricks, all aiming for his heart, and his lungs. His throat constricted, his breathing suddenly became labored. And then he watched Iris turn on her heel, and leave. Just like that, she was gone.

Barry stood there, staring at the elevator, begging she would come back, and they could hug it out, but she didn't. He jumped when he felt a firm hand on his shoulder, and turned around to see Joe, his eyes also watery.

"You heard?"

"Yeah."

Barry nodded, a solemn look on his face.

Joe knew what he was thinking, and was quick to address Iris' words.

"You know she didn't mean it, Bear. Just give her some space."

"No, Joe, that's just it, she did." Barry swiped a tear from his cheek, and turned to leave.

"Barry, where are you going?"

"I can't be here right now."

"Home?"

"No. Iris is there. I think I'm just going to go for a run, clear my head."

"Okay, stay safe."

"Yeah."

If Iris knew that was the last time she'd see Barry, her words would have probably ended differently. If Joe knew that Barry wasn't going to come back, he would have chased him down, made sure he never left the precinct.

 **UH OH...**


	13. Trouble Arising

**Sorry for the wait, I hit a fork in the road with this story, and had to think long and hard on which way I was going to take it. Thanks to everyone for all the reviews and support! It really does help with motivation! Lol, I keep thinking back to how this story started, and where it is now. It changed drastically...**

 **SEVEN DAYS PRIOR**

 _Dizzy._

 _Cold._

 _Hazy._

Barry's joints ached. A searing pain radiated up and down his left leg. His head throbbed, his heart raced, and his suit was uncomfortably wet against his clammy skin. Something was wrong. Barry knew that for sure, but his brain was too foggy to know exactly what was going on at the moment. He could hardly remember the last thing he was doing.

 _Running._

Barry had been running. _Why_ , was unclear, but so was everything else at the moment.

The space he was in was dark, and the ground underneath him felt grainy and uneven. He was definitely not in the comfort of his own bed, but that was already ruled out when he woke with a splitting headache, and the feeling that the contents of his stomach were going to empty out onto the ground next to him, if he continued to shuffle.

That hot stabbing sensation in Barry's leg only grew worse the more he thought about it.

Barry's survival instincts must have kicked in then, because, _much to his body's chagrin_ , he lunged upright, suddenly gasping for air.

 _Where the hell was he!?_

When Barry's eyes adjusted finally, and the blurry lense over them cleared, he took in a better look at his surroundings.

He was in a dimly lit cell, with three rock walls, and a sandy ground. Barry almost laughed when he saw that the only thing keeping him from escaping was the iron bars that sported as the fourth wall. Did they not realize he was the freaking Flash?

Barry hopped up from the ground, and instantly regretted it; a wave of nausea and lightheadedness swept over him, and he nearly toppled over. That terrible pain in his leg wasn't helping either.

Barry stumbled over to the bars, gripped them tightly with his hands, and tried to vibrate.

 _Tried._

 _Of course_ something was dampening his speed! It would be too easy if Barry could just walk out of this hellhole.

It was then that Barry noticed the faint blue glow near the ground, and he let out an irritated groan when he realized what it was.

It explained the burning sensation in his leg.

A damn power dampening cuff was secured to his ankle.

"HEY! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT WITH ME!?" Barry screamed, and winced when the throbbing in his head worsened. He most likely had a concussion.

Still, Barry pushed passed the pain, and continued. "WHY THE HELL AM I IN HERE!?" When only his echo responded, Barry hobbled over to the far wall, and slumped down against it. He was in so much pain right now, and considering how dark it was in the room, it was most likely night, giving Barry an excuse to sleep it off.

He would figure out what exactly was going on when his mind cleared.

-ooo-

 **SIX DAYS PRIOR**

Barry woke with a jolt, eyes shooting open, wide with fear. The question that lingered in his mind before passing out, still remained.

 _Where was he?_

The room remained dark, and a light breeze filtered through the bars, though Barry was sure that it wasn't the cool air that sent a chill down his spine, and caused the hairs on his neck to stand.

His leg, once burning, felt stiff now, and he could feel the weight of the dampening cuff on his ankle, like a brick secured tightly to it.

Barry concluded that he must have a concussion, if he still felt disoriented. He resisted the urge to peel away his cowl, and massage the throbbing bump that had formed on his head.

With as much strength as he could muster at the moment, Barry pushed himself up off the ground slowly. He started on his hands and knees, and then grasped the wall for support.

When Barry got to his feet, he was almost sure that he was going to pass out again. Another dizzy spell hit him hard. Still, he persisted and made his way to the iron bars.

Another tingle ran down his spine, just as his eyes landed on the man walking towards his...cage.

Barry felt a sour taste on his tongue, and his blood boiled with rage.

"Mr. Allen. Glad to see you've finally decided to wake up."

"Eiling." He growled through clenched teeth. Barry wasn't sure how menacing he looked at the moment, considering he was leaning heavily against the bars, and his body still looked sluggish.

His thoughts were only confirmed when Eiling threw his head back, and laughed darkly. "Oh, look at you, Flash. So helpless. That drug really looks like it took a toll on you. I have to apologize for that, you were just so squirmy."

So he was drugged? No concussion? Okay, concussion was still on the table, but Barry was certain this terrible feeling wasn't from that.

"What do you want!?"

"Oh, I want a lot of things Mr. Allen. Power, domination, war...but at the moment, I only have eyes for a particular speedster."

"Go to Hell." Barry slammed a fist against the thick bars, and took a weak step backwards.

"You really aren't very tough looking in this cage, with that cuff on your ankle, so you can drop the act, Flash.

"Why the hell did you bring me here!?"

"Information."

"Information?" Barry scoffed, and crossed his arms. "You aren't getting anything out of me, Eiling."

The general nodded his head thoughtfully, and grinned.

"I have my ways. So tell me, Barry, how fast _can_ you run exactly?"

"Like I said, go to Hell." Barry grit.

"Interrogation can go two ways, Mr. Allen. You can cooperate, and make this easy, or we can use force."

Barry felt his gut churn with unease. He knew all he had to do was stand his ground long enough for the team to find him. Knowing that, Barry only glared at the man in front of him.

-ooo-

 **PRESENT DAY**

Joe knocked lightly on Barry's bedroom door, taking in a deep breath to regain his composure. He was going to need it if he was going to tell his daughter the truth. She still thought Barry went to go stay at Cisco's house, because of their falling out. Joe wanted to wait to share the truth with her, just in case Barry turned up. Iris didn't need to know he was missing if they could avoid it. So, Joe gave it a week. That week came and went much too quickly, the only evidence he and Eddie seemed to have come up with, was the inconclusive blood sample found at the last place Barry's suit tracker picked up, before he fell off the grid.

Iris had been in his room a lot lately, sulking in her own guilt. She felt terrible for saying what she had, and even worse that Barry still hadn't come home yet. It just proved how hurt he'd been. Iris realized that she really had no idea what Barry was going through. She couldn't begin to imagine what it would be like to lose nine months of her life, and she really needed to understand that Barry might be having trouble coming to terms with everything. Iris didn't need to be yelling at him for being a bad friend, if anything, she was the bad friend. She needed to give him time, when Barry was ready, he would come to her.

When Iris heard the knock on the door, she practically jumped out of bed, and raced to open it.

"Barry!?"

Joe felt awful when he saw the smile on Iris' face fall the moment she saw that it was him, and not her best friend. Iris stepped aside, and let her dad into the room.

"How are you holding up, babe?"

"I don't deserve to be asked that. I feel terrible." She plopped down on his bed, and looked at Joe sadly. "Has Barry said anything to you about me? Has he told you how he's feeling? Should I go over to Cisco's and apologi-"

Joe held out a hand to stop Iris. "We've gone over this, sweetie, he's not going to want you to go over and talk to him." The detective realized that he needed to stop adding on to the lie that he had created over the past eight days, and begin to untangle it.

Iris must have noticed the way her dad's face fell, and she placed a hand over his. "Dad, are you alright?"

Joe shook his head, eyes starting to water. "No, Iris, there's something I need to tell you. Something I should have told you the moment that it happened."

Iris felt her chest constrict, her stomach twist with a nervous flutter. There was something terrifying about the way Joe was looking at her, that said something really bad happened.

"Dad?"

-ooo-

 **ONE DAY PRIOR**

Barry couldn't tell you how long he'd been there, being beaten everyday, tortured for information that he continually refused to give. Blood speckled the rock walls, and sandy ground, his skin was colored with bruises, and his suit had multiple tears in it now, all had a deep cut underneath that bled profusely. Barry was downright miserable.

Either Eiling, or one of his men, would come down in the morning, and slide a small bowl of mush for food. Being a speedster, it wasn't enough. His stomach growled, and terrible pains made him want to keel over, but if he were to tell Eiling about his metabolism, he would be doing exactly what that monster wanted: for Barry to give into the pain.

Eiling came every hour or so to offer him a chance, and when Barry refused, it went one of two ways:

Cattle prod to the chest, or fist to the face, and boot to the gut.

Barry found that he spent most of his time curled in on himself in the far corner of the room.

The power dampening cuff on his ankle seemed to not only drain him of his powers, but also of his energy. Barry seemed to be extremely exhausted most of the time, though that could just be because of the regular assault sessions he had with Eiling everyday. Maybe a mix of both.

He truly thought this would just go on forever until he either died, the team found him, or he finally caved. The first two seemed most likely. It wasn't until Eiling came in later that day, that he started to consider his third option.

"You know, Mr. Allen. I've kept tabs on you. On your friends, your family, who you spend the most time with, and I couldn't help but seem to be drawn to this particular person."

Barry gazed up at the man from where he was slouched against the wall, and his eyes landed on a picture that he slid into the cell.

Barry crawled over to it, and picked it up.

"Eiling, what is this!?" He felt his heart rate pick up, and the blood drain from his face. "WHAT IS THIS!?" The speedster screamed, lunging up from the floor.

"Leverage." The word rolled off Eiling's tongue with a sour bite to it.

The picture was one of the many rendezvous The Flash had with Iris on the rooftop. This one in particular was one where she had her hand cupping his cheek, and _his_ hand was around her waist. The picture was taken from the security camera on the roof. Barry had no idea there was even one up there.

"I'll give it to you, Barry. You've won this round, torture doesn't seem to work on you, does it? How about family?" He narrowed his eyes. "Iris West-"

"Don't say her name."

Eiling cruelly continued. "Iris Anne West. Adoptive sister, hm? You care for her, don't you, Flash?"

"Eiling, I swear to God!"

He didn't say anything in response, just smirked wickedly, and tossed another three pictures through the bars. Barry couldn't dare look at them, this bastard seemed to already have the mind to tell him what they were, anyways.

"Jitters. The roof. The streets. You hang around her quite often as The Flash. Oh, but what about these?" Another few pictures were scattered on the sand in front of Barry, who stared numbly at them. "CCPD, Jitters, CCPN. Barry Allen loves his Iris West."

"Stop it."

"Listen closely, _Barry_ , everyone has their breaking point, and I _will_ find yours."

With that, the general turned on his heel, and started to walk off.

"Eiling! I swear if you touch her! If you lay a hand on her, I will kill you! Eiling! EILING!"

-ooo-

 **PRESENT DAY**

Joe stepped out of the elevator in the precinct, and walked to Eddie's desk, bracing his hands against it as he took in multiple deep breaths. Eddie quickly stood from his chair.

"Joe? You don't look too good. What happened?"

"I told her, Eddie. I told Iris."

"I take it by that face that she didn't take it well?"

Joe glared up at the younger detective, and couldn't prevent the tear that rolled down his cheek. He slowly turned his head to the side, revealing to Eddie the large, hand-shaped bruise that blossomed on his face.

 _She got violent._

"Ouch. That bad, huh?"

Joe shook his head slowly, and straightened his back. "No, that wasn't even the worst part. It was having to explain to her why The Flash wasn't looking."

Eddie's eyes widened suddenly, and he stumbled back.

"Y-you told her!?"

"No. That's the thing, I could've. I could have stopped the lies right then and there, but instead I told her he was busy helping out a friend in Starling. That lead to multiple screaming matches, and her demanding that I contact him, and get his ass back over to his city. She's furious with The Flash now." Joe sighed, and sat down, burying his face in his hands. "God, I should've just told her! Look at this mess we've gotten ourselves into."

Eddie nodded understandingly, and placed a hand on Joe's back. "Why don't you tell her the truth? Stop this nonsense before anything escalates...further."

"It wouldn't be right. It should be Barry. It's his secret to tell, and frankly, I don't know how."

"West!" Singh called, interrupting their conversation. "We need you over here!"

-ooo-

Iris had drowned herself in work all day, trying to keep her mind off of Barry. It was late now, half past eleven. Everyone had cleared out and gone home by now, but not Iris. She stared blankly at the bright screen in front of her, rereading the same word over and over again. Ironically, it was 'safety'. She just couldn't focus.

 _Barry._

Eight days. He had been missing for eight goddamn days, and she only found out today. The thought of what her last words were to him made her want to scream, and cry, and punch something until her fists bled, and her bones cracked.

There was a voice in the back of her head, one that kept reprimanding her, one that kept telling her what she should have said, what she should've done.

She fought with Barry. She never fought with him, and now he was missing and possibly dead.

Iris dropped her head on her desk, and let out a small scream, and sobbed loudly. She didn't know how to handle something like this.

 _Barry was gone._

The following actions that Iris did, she blames her body being in autopilot. She stood from her chair, and grabbed the monitor, slamming it to the ground, watching it shatter. The next were all the organized papers. Those found their way to the ground as well, scattered and messy.

Iris screamed, tears streaming down her cheeks.

 _Barry was gone._

Iris grabbed her phone, and pulled up her blog. She didn't care if her dad said The Flash was in Starling, she needed to at least try.

 _Please. We need you here. It's urgent. Please come back to your city!_

She sent that message with shaky fingers, and chucked her phone at the window. Iris wasn't normally a violent person, and yet somehow in the past few hours, she had slapped her dad, _deserving_ , and destroyed her work, and company property. It's what Barry's absence did to her. The only time she ever got this violent was when he was in a coma. She went home that night, and tore apart her room before seeking solace in Barry's.

Now, pretty much worn to the bone, Iris picked up her phone, packed her purse, and headed for the door. She didn't care about the mess she left, the only thing on her mind was Barry.

 _Barry was gone._

Her last words replayed in her head like some sick person torturing her, only the person torturing her, was herself.

" _It didn't change me, Iris. I'm still Barry."_

" _Yeah, well you aren't my Barry."_

Iris let another loud cry escape her lips, as she pushed through the glass doors, and walked out into the dark night.

The nagging voice in the back of her head carried on as she walked to her car. It was parked a ways away from the building, the parking lot was small, and people filled it rather quickly. Iris had to park in a vacant lot by an abandoned movie shop.

 _Why didn't you say something to him!? Why did you leave!? You could've turned around and hugged him tight. Apologized, told him how much you loved him!_

Iris was a good hundred feet away from her vehicle now, and she locked her gaze on it, setting the path she was going to take to get to it. Walking in the dark always made her uneasy, it's why she made sure to come to work a good fifteen minutes early, and get the best parking space. Today, however, she missed half of the day from crying in Barry's room, until she decided work was what she needed.

Fifty feet away, and that's when she heard the heavy footsteps trailing behind her. If Iris didn't have a detective for a father, she would've shrugged it off, and kept walking, but something made her hairs raise, and her pace quicken. Something wasn't right.

Iris dared to sneak a quick glance over her shoulder, and the sight made her nearly scream.

Two men, both in all black, were practically jogging towards her, something in hand. This was one of the days Iris wished she had taken up on her dad's offer to carry a gun in her purse.

Twenty-five feet away, and she knew she was screwed, when an arm suddenly grasped her around her waist, and the other brought a cloth to her mouth. Kicking did nothing, screaming did nothing, and Iris could only describe the emotion that coursed through every vein in her body, as complete and utter fear.

Iris heard a click, and it rang through her ears. The cold press of a gun nudged against her head and an arm snaked quick around her neck.

"Don't. Move." A gruff voice whispered in her ear. Iris couldn't if she wanted to. She was paralyzed.

She wondered for a split second if this was what happened to Barry. If some random strangers came up to him from behind, and…

Iris choked out a sob, her thoughts trailing to a darker, more morbid side.

 _This was how she was going to die._


	14. Trouble

**I want to apologize for the wait, I got distracted with binging stories, and writing a bunch of other stories which I'll be posting soon, but I don't want to make the same mistakes I made with my other ones, so I'm taking my time and really focusing on plot, etc. Y'all are so awesome! Thanks for sticking with this story!**

"She doesn't know, does she?"

Barry slowly lifted his head, a snarl set on his face. He met Eiling's smirk and wanted so badly to punch it right off his face.

"What?" he snapped.

"Ms. West. I'm assuming she doesn't know your identity?"

The silence that followed gave Eiling the answer he was expecting, and he chuckled manically. "Oh, this should be rich! No powers, no way to vibrate your voice or features." He swiped a tear from the corner of his eye, and set his jaw, regaining his composure just as quickly as he'd lost it.

Barry sucked in a ragged breath, and stood, anger flashing in his eyes. "What are you playing at, Eiling!? Why do you need to get Iris involved!? She's innocent! Please!"

"The Flash. Begging. Now, this is the show I had been waiting for." He waved a hand in the air. "Relax, I'm not _that_ cold-hearted."

Barry truly thought this was when Eiling was going to call off his men-keep Iris away from this mess, but then he pulled something from his back pocket, a small device, and tossed it into his cell.

Eiling turned to walk away, then looked over his shoulder. "Voice modulator. I don't want to suck away all your fun." He snapped his fingers in the air, and gestured over his shoulder to what Barry would assume to be guards out of his line of sight. "Bring her in."

Barry's blood ran cold.

With shaky fingers, he snapped the modulator onto the collar of his suit, and turned it on, a small beep signalled it was working.

-ooo-

 _Hands._

Warm hands cupped her cheeks.

A soothing voice echoed in her ear.

She knew that voice.

 _Flashie._

Iris snapped her eyes open, suddenly extremely alarmed. He shouldn't be here, he was in Starling, and she was…

 _Oh God. Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God._

A cry of relief escaped his lips, and Iris stared blankly at her surroundings, completely ignoring the hero who was latched tightly onto her.

Sand. Rock. Bars.

 _Cage_.

"Iris, hey, look at me, please."

"Flash, wha-what."

"Iris, I know it's a lot to take in, but you need to be quiet. He'll hear you."

Still a little dazed, she latched onto his arm and pulled herself into a sitting position.

Iris' heart sped up. He wasn't vibrating his face, and those eyes. She knew those eyes.

"Iris?"

"Flash, what's going on!? Where the hell am I!?" Iris' blurred vision cleared slightly, and this time, she was able to take in the state of the man in front of her. An uneasy feeling settled at the pit of her stomach. Blood. He was caked in so much blood. Cuts littered his cheeks, his arms, legs, stomach. Rips and tears in his suit, bruises on the patches of exposed skin. And he still wasn't vibrating his face.

Iris reached out a hand, and settled in on Flash's cheek. She observed every little movement. His eyes fluttered shut, and he leaned into her hand. Iris smiled, but her eyes were filled with worry. She brushed a thumb over the gash, and winced.

"What happened to you?" she whispered, brokenly. Her hand moved to gently touch the large tear that striped across his torso, dried blood caked around the edges, a large slice in his skin that looked irritated.

Barry only shook his head and swallowed hard.

Iris furrowed her eyebrows. "Why aren't you healing?"

He gazed up at her, and met her eyes. Iris felt her heart stop. _Those eyes_. That gaze which at the moment held so much sadness.

Barry gestured at his ankle, to which Iris caught eye of the glowing blue, high-tech cuff around it.

"Wha-what the hell is that?"

He lowered his head, almost as though in shame. "Power dampening cuff."

"So-"

"-I can't save us this time." Iris didn't miss the way his voice cracked, she could hear how broken and scared he was. It terrified Iris to her core that the man in front of her-the man she thought didn't fear anything-had given up.

"Hey, don't say that. I believe in you, Flash."

Barry shook his head and stood. Iris nearly screamed when he stumbled back to the ground, his entire body trembled, but he took in a deep breath and pushed himself back up. With a limp, Barry walked over to the far wall, and slid down it, before leaning his head back.

Iris crawled over to him. "What did they do to you!?"

Barry pursed his lips. "I...think it's the cuff. Either that or...blood loss. Both, maybe," he whispered. Iris took his hand in hers.

"We need to get out of here!"

Barry lifted his head and met Iris' eyes. He didn't give a damn whether she knew it was him or not.

"Iris, they brought you...brought you...for leverage," Barry stopped, realizing he was starting to stutter; he took in a deep breath, and continued, "against me. For info, and I'm going to give it to them because," Barry gasped when a sharp pain hit him suddenly, and he knew it was the infection setting in in his abdomen. He gritted his teeth, and continued, ignoring Iris' pleas for him to stop talking and be careful. "Because...I-I...I can't let you...hurt... _get_ hurt." Talking was suddenly so much harder for him. Everything about him just wasn't functioning right.

 _Power dampener._

Iris shook her head in disbelief. "What is wrong with you!?"

Barry looked up at her with half-lidded-but just as confused-eyes. "What?"

"I'm _fine_ , but _newsflash_ you obviously aren't! Now I don't give a damn what they want from you, you better not say one word. We're going to get out of here, we are going to get that cuff off of you so you can heal, and everything is going to work out, okay!?" A tear slipped down her cheek, and she lowered her voice to a whisper. Iris leaned forward, and pressed her forehead against his. "It has to."

Barry smiled at her weakly, reached out a hand to tip her chin, and placed a gentle kiss to her lips. Then another.

When he pulled away, Iris had a dorky grin on her face, slightly dazed. "About damn time," she whispered.

Barry's head dropped back against the wall, and Iris mimicked his position beside him.

"I won't let them hurt you, Iris. I won't."

She rested her head on his shoulder, and gripped his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze that told Barry she understood.

-ooo-

He knew something was wrong as he stepped out of his vehicle, and headed for the house. Joe hadn't heard anything out of Iris all day, and she hadn't shown for work. Sure, he had yet to check the house, which is what he was doing right now, but fatherly intuition told him what to expect.

Joe stared at the car keys on his front step- _Iris' car keys_ -and had to bite back the urge to throw up when he picked up the note underneath it. Under that? The Flash's emblem, blood crusted in it's edges; It felt like a punch to the gut.

With shaky fingers and blurred eyes, Joe opened the piece of paper.

 _You look for them, we'll inflict more than just pain._

Joe wasted no time in pulling out his phone from his back pocket, and dialing Cisco.

-ooo-

"Barry has gone missing," Iris whispered, causing him to turn his head and look at her.

"Hm?"

"My dad told me you were in Starling and couldn't help. I don't know why he lied to me."

Now that he couldn't vibrate his face, Barry had to duck his head a lot to talk to her. It really irritated his neck.

"He'll show up."

Iris' lip quivered. "Do you think he's okay? We had a fight, and...what if he died thinking I hated him!? What if-"

"Hey, don't talk like that."

Iris nodded and chewed her lip. "I told him he wasn't the same anymore, that he'd changed," she whispered, and shook her head slowly. "I don't think that! I don't! Sure, he's going through something right now that I can't seem to figure out, but I still love him the same. I do! He's disappeared and thinks I hate him."

The speedster grabbed her hand, and shook his head. "He knows you care, Iris."

Iris opened her mouth to reply, when the heavy pounding of military boots sounded from down the hall, and Barry pushed himself to stand, shielding Iris behind him.

"Eiling."

"Mr. A- _Flash._ "

Iris' breath caught in her throat. He knew his identity. Everyone seemed to know his identity but her!

"Stay away from her," Barry warned, and stepped closer to the bars, fists clenched at his sides. Iris didn't miss the way they trembled slightly.

"Alright."

Barry's jaw dropped. "What?"

"If," Eiling's grin broadened when he saw the frustration in Barry's eyes, "you give me the information I want."

Barry snapped his head back to look at Iris, and frowned. She shook her head slowly, trying to assure him that she would be okay. Barry didn't give a damn about how strong Iris was-he knew she was-but Eiling and his...methods were far beyond just strength. If Iris got one scratch on her from being in here, he would kill every last person in this building.

Barry inhaled sharply, and looked back at the anticipating general. Both of them knew what Barry was going to say, it showed in the smirk at the corner of his lips, and the panic in Barry's eyes.

"Fine."

"Flash! No!"

"Iris. This isn't your decision to make!"

Eiling chuckled darkly, and pulled out a small notepad and pen from his back pocket. "Firstly, I want to know what your top speed is."

Barry worked his jaw for a few seconds, swallowed hard, and then spoke, the words hardly coming out of his mouth; "Eight-hundred-thirty-six."

"Flashie, please! Stop!"

"Ah, very good. Now, tell me, how did you obtain your powers?"

Iris noticed the second Barry stiffened-even more so than before-they both knew what Eiling was most likely going to do with this information.

"Go on, Flash. Give me an answer."

"I-I was," he clenched his eyes shut, and shook his head slowly, then looked over at Iris, "in my car," he lied.

Eiling narrowed his eyes, but gestured for Barry to continue.

Iris' eyes widened slightly. She leaned in, suddenly intrigued, and definitely guilty for it.

"Speeding down the highway when...a wave of dark matter from the particle accelerator explosion sent it flying in the air, simultaneously knocking me out for a few hours." Barry never felt so uncomfortable in his own skin than with Eiling's gaze boring holes in him, and the feeling of Iris' stare on his back. "When I woke up," he finished, "I had super speed."

There was a deafening silence following Barry's story, where Eiling just stood there, staring at him suspiciously, before he nodded his head and raised an eyebrow. "I'll be back."

The second Wade left, the sudden urge to vomit overwhelmed Barry; a dizziness in his head made his surroundings blur. He locked eyes with Iris, an apologetic look in his eyes, and crumpled to the floor.

-ooo-

"We can't track them." Joe's sudden appearance in the cortex startled Cisco into falling out of his chair.

"What?" Caitlin asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

Joe tossed two items onto the cortex desk, and Cisco crawled back in his chair to look at them. They both gasped simultaneously. The doctor reached out to brush her fingers on the emblem, then picked up the car keys.

"This was our last option. Joe, where did you get these?" Cisco questioned.

The detective looked as though he was doing everything he could not to fall apart right there. "It was on my doorstep when I got home from the precinct."

Caitlin's bottom lip quivered, and she turned to look at Cisco. "Weren't we going to see if we could get a signal off of that," she gestured at Barry's emblem, "what now?"

Cisco shrugged, and buried his face in the palms of his hands. "At least they're together," he mumbled, and Joe shook his head.

"We don't know that! We don't know a damn thing!"

"Alright. What was plan B?" Caitlin asked, and pulled out a chair for Joe to sit down in. With the way his knees were shaking, she was surprised he hadn't collapsed yet. "Any other ideas on how to track them, Cisco? Have you tried pinging Iris' cell?"

"The hell do you think I am? Of course I did!" Cisco immediately regretted snapping, and softened his features. "Sorry."

Caitlin raised a hand a smiled weakly. "It's fine I understand."

Cisco turned to look at Joe, then, an idea hitting him. "Joe, can I see the note?"

Joe nodded and pulled it from his back pocket, confusion written in the lines in between his eyebrows.

"Thanks."

"What're you thinking?"

"This isn't your usual printer paper. Maybe running a sample of this through the mass spectrometer in Barry's lab to determine the molecular makeup of this paper, and any other chemicals or whatnot on it, could lead to what brand of paper and-"

"-potentially the last place it was!" Caitlin interjected, a bright smile on her face. "You're brilliant!"

Joe perked up slightly, hope in his eyes. "Are you sure about this, Cisco?"

The engineer nodded, and stood up. "Let's do it."


	15. Trouble 2

**CH. 15**

 **Thanks to everyone that has tolerated me for as long as you have. Big shout out to FlashVibe, and ReadtoRelax for sticking with me through this story and posting such motivating reviews, but also to everyone else who has reviewed. Love ya!**

 **Ooh boy. Okay. This section of this note was written a while after the section above. I've been trying to update this story for a while now, but it said the server was unsafe, and wouldn't let me on. Sorry for the wait. I've gotten everything sorted out now.**

-ooo-

"You were lying, weren't you?"

"Hm?"

"Your story about how you got your powers. It was a lie, right?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. That's unimportant right now, Iris. What is, is finding a way out of this place." Barry paused from his tenth scanning of the structure of the iron bars, and turned to face the reporter. "I need to get you back to Joe."

"And Barry."

A slight tilt of The Flash's head had Iris elaborating.

"You gave me my faith back. Barry is okay, I believe it."

Barry smiled, a weak upturn of the corners of his lips, nodded, then turned back to the bars. "Any ide-"

"Can I ask a question?"

Barry sighed. "Yes?"

Iris gestured at the power dampening cuff around his ankle, then looked up to meet his eyes, frowning when he turned his face away from hers. He was still hell-bent on keeping his identity a secret. Frustratingly stubborn this man was.

"How are you vibrating your voice with that thing on?"

Barry went silent. Quieter than he had been in the recent hour. No, this time he was dead still, not even a shift of his body. He didn't answer, just turned around once more. His hands went back to playing with the bars, trying to find a weak spot, a rusted bar, anything. "So, any ideas?"

Iris crossed her arms. "I don't think there are any ways to get out of here without your powers. Maybe relying on your team is the only move we can play right now, Flashie."

Barry shook his head, and rested it against the bars. "Not unless Ronnie and Stein were a part of this."

"What do you mean by that?"

"This isn't the first time Eiling has taken a metahuman I know. My team and I were only able to find his location through a telepathic connection he had with another man."

"You've experienced some crazy adventures, haven't you?"

"Just another Tuesday for me."

Iris plopped down against the wall, and brought her legs to her chest. "And...how many Tuesdays would you say that's been?"

"Iris," Barry grumbled.

"What's wrong with knowing a little backstory to your powers?"

"The story I told Eiling was complete truth."

"No it wasn't."

"Just drop it, West."

"After you take a break. You need one."

"I _don't_."

"You've been at that for hours! You're already weak from that cuff, and how much good are you going to do if we can escape, but you collapse on me _again_ from over-exertion?"

"I can't do _any_ good right now, anyways."

"What's wrong with you?"

"Excuse me?"

"Where is this pessimism coming from? This isn't you, Flash. You carry light with you wherever you go— _literally_ and metaphorically."

"I'm human, Iris. You've got this picture of me painted in your head of a perfect person!" Barry spun around, hands flying in the air. "I'm not, alright? You've got to stop. I'm just an ordinary guy who was gifted with powers."

"Flas-"

"I go to work everyday, I eat, I sleep, I have a phone, I hang with friends! And I jog, yes, at higher speeds, but I _jog._ I deal with stress, I'm ironically late to everything, I geek out over geeky things! I'm a person, and I can't save us this time!"

"Hey, I didn't mean it like that. I have _faith_ in who you are."

Barry pinched the bridge of his nose with a gloved hand, and worked his jaw, like his tongue was tossing around a marble in his mouth.

"I don't know what to do, and it's terrifying me, Iris."

"I understand that, but it's time you take a step back, and let my dad and your team work to find us."

Reluctantly, The Flash nodded, and with his head down, he walked over to the back wall.

-ooo-

"Here?"

"Yes."

"Here?"

"Yes, Joe. Here."

"I don't know, Cisco. This is an empty field. There's nothing here. Maybe Barry's mass sketch thing didn't work."

Cisco rolled his eyes. "Mass spectrometer. And the best hideouts are always in the least obvious places."

Caitlin placed her hands on her hips, and came to a stop on Cisco's right. "Do you see something that Joe and I aren't? Other than that tree over there, Joe's right. It's just grass."

"Exactly. Come along, Pond." Cisco began walking, and waved a hand over his shoulder for the two to follow.

Joe nodded thoughtfully. "That's one TV reference I do get."

The three came to a stop in front of a tall oak tree, branches stretching wide, providing a shade that only made Caitlin colder than she was. Rubbing her arms to warm herself, she asked, "Now what, Cisco?"

The engineer was already knelt down on the dirt, he pulled a piece of tech from his pocket that looked to be a pen, but he pressed a button, and a purple light shone bright from it. He scanned it across the base of the tree.

"There!"

Joe and Caitlin leaned over to see the deep brown dirt fade away and turn into a steel plate, a key code on the top.

"He used some sort of cloaking device," the doctor deduced.

"A sort of transmogrifier if you will."

"Great going, Cisco. You can explain the tech about it later, let's get Barry and Iris back."

-ooo-

"It's...it's hard to imagine that there's actually someone under that mask. A normal person like me. In my eyes, that cowl is part of you. Picturing you hitting the snooze on an alarm clock, or eating a bowl of cereal," Iris laughed softly, and started picking out the sand in a strand of her hair, "it makes me wonder if I've ever been getting coffee, and you, in your normal civilian clothes, have been in there too."

"I have."

"Seriously!?" Iris gaped, a swirling at the bottom of her stomach—pure excitement.

Barry clasped his hands together over his head, and nodded slowly, suddenly extremely irritated with his inability to keep his mouth shut. "Yes."

"Did...did we... _talk?_ Did _you_ talk to me!? Have I seen your face?"

"I-"

Iris suddenly gasped and shot out an arm, pointing at the red-clad speedster. "Are you the guy who payed for my coffee a couple weeks ago!?" She held up a hand, and started counting off fingers. "Tall, slender, hanso-"

"No. No, that wasn't me."

"Damn."

A loud thud from up above caused Barry to shoot to his feet.

-ooo-

Joe pulled out his gun, being the first one to climb down the ladder. He winced at the loud thud he made from hopping down. He expected there to be a narrow hallway of dirt when he reached the ground, but instead he was surrounded by an enormous room, steel walls, and large overhead lights that were almost blinding.

Cisco bumped into the back of the detective, having been intrigued by the area as well. "Sorry," he mumbled, and slowly came to a stop at the detective's side.

Caitlin stood beside Cisco, mouth agape. "This place is...huge."

"How are we going to find them, exactly?" the engineer added, scanning the area. There wasn't much to it. He wondered what these people could possible use it for. Meeting area? Conference room that had no tables and chairs?

Joe lowered his gun for a moment, and turned to look at Cisco. "Is there anyway you can narrow down their possible location?"

He chewed his bottom lip thoughtfully, then pulled out his tablet. "Okay, Mercury Labs was robbed recently, correct?"

Joe nodded, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What does this have to do with anything?"

Cisco held up a hand. "I'm getting there."

"Get there faster, Cisco," Caitlin whispered.

"Alright! A power dampening cuff was stolen. If there is any chance they are using _that_ to keep Barry from escaping, then there is a good chance I can track it. Those things give off _tons_ of energy."

"Okay, we'll start there."

Heavy footsteps echoed from behind a doorway on the far side of the room, and the three shared panicked glances.

Joe gestured at the door they were standing next to, and he opened it slowly, ready to shoot in case someone was behind it.

It turned out to be a surveillance room, and to their surprise, it was unoccupied at the moment.

"I'll stand guard. Cisco, see if there is anything useful."

"Guys!" Caitlin suddenly piped up. She was standing in front of one of the screens, pointing. "Look."

Cisco's eyes widened, a small smile touched the corners of his lips.

Joe didn't move from his position at the doorway, heart rate picking up as the footsteps seemed to only be getting louder. "What is it?" he murmured, trying his best to stay silent. The detective couldn't see them, Caitlin and Cisco had rounded a corner.

"The security feed," the doctor started, looking over her shoulder as though she could actually see Joe, "it's of a line of cells. And I'm hoping that's who I think it is," she looked at Cisco, he crossed his arms.

"What other prisoner is going to be wearing a red, skin-tight, leather suit!?"

"And Iris?" Joe asked, pressing his lips together in worried anticipation.

Caitlin turned back to look at the feed, it wasn't very easy to see inside the cells, just the front of the bars and part of the inside could really be seen. They could only make out Barry from the line of a body pacing in front of the bars. To their immense luck, another body slid beside Barry's, most definitely a woman's.

"She's there!"

A silence lingered in the room, both Cisco and Caitlin expecting to hear Joe whisper back with a relieved sigh. The engineer glanced at the woman standing beside him, the panic he was sporting in the lines of his face mirrored Caitlin's.

The doctor stepped forward, Cisco caught her wrist. "Careful." She nodded, and stood against the wall, getting ready to look around the corner at the door. Cisco's heart pounded hard in his chest, he worried someone unfriendly would actually be able to hear it.

"Joe?" the doctor tried, and took a few steps closer towards being able to see the exit.

Still, no response.

-ooo-

"What do you think that was?" Iris asked, coming up to stand beside Barry. He ducked his head slightly, and if Iris wasn't so adamant on studying him, she would've missed the insinuation of his movements; he was still worried about his identity. It caused a tightness to form in Iris' chest. Anger. She shouldn't be mad, but at the same time she had every right to be.

Barry shook his head slowly, beginning to pace. "I don't know," he said softly, then turned to start pacing the other way.

The reporter just stood their, observing his actions. She wondered what exactly was going through his head...besides the whole panic of being caged by someone who wanted to use his powers. There was definitely something else. An urgency in his step. Something tense about his muscles that only loosened slightly when Eiling wasn't in the room. She had to know.

"Are...you okay?"

He continued the anxious strides.

"Flash?"

Barry stilled, back facing her. He reached up to grasp the bars, leaning his head forward and arching his back, then vice versa. She thought it looked like he wanted to continue moving, like the lack of movement was eating him up. And maybe Iris wasn't too far off in those assumptions.

"I-I don't...I can't…I...I just need…" he pushed back from the bars and started moving again, this time his steps looked more frantic.

"Whoa, Flash!" Iris stepped in front of him, stalling his motions for a moment before he moved around her, almost immediately having to turn once more because of the wall.

Barry's hands reached up to grasp his head, his breathing becoming sharp and quick. As he made his way past her, Iris grabbed his arm.

"You're scaring me."

He turned around, slowly, and even that looked agonizing. His jaw worked to one side, the other. And now suddenly he didn't seem to care about the reporter being able to see bits of his face. Didn't matter anyways, Iris wasn't paying attention to that. Her gaze was focused on his rapidly tapping foot, and his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides.

"I…," Barry started, but just as quickly shut his mouth, pressing a fist to it. Iris stepped closer, releasing her grip on his forearm.

"You need your speed...don't you?" she started, the thought striking her suddenly. "It's not even a want...it's...it's a _part_ of you."

Barry pulled his bottom lip between his teeth, biting down hard to suppress the urge to bolt across the small space. He clenched his eyes shut, then nodded his head.

Iris pursed her lips, and took another step towards the distressed man. "We're gonna get that off you." That's the only thing she could really think to say.

"MICHAELS! WE'VE GOT A BREACH IN SECURITY!" One of the guards shouting caused Iris' attention to snap to the outside hallway, two of the three security guards monitoring the doorway were now bolting out. An alarm sounded, and a smile stretched wide across her face.

"They're here."

-ooo-

Cisco and Caitlin both nodded at each other, then turned the corner, ready to face anything they were about to come across. It was then, as the engineer stood in the open, that he realized they were defenseless, stupidly standing in the middle of the hall. Fortunately, no one seemed to be there. _Unfortunately_ , neither did Joe. They stepped cautiously towards the door. The short hallway towards the exit was relatively narrow, putting Cisco in front, Caitlin closely behind. "Joe?"

The door knob turned. The doctor was the first to notice it, she frantically pointed to it, then grabbed Cisco's arm and turned to run, right as it swung open, and in stepped Joe, breathing heavy. He braced his hands on his knees, then leaned against the door. "I just took care of a guy out there, but I tripped the alarm in doing so. Cisco, what's your progress?"

Cisco stared at the door, obviously panicking from the sound of guards yelling. Caitlin snapped her fingers in front of his face, and gave a reassuring smile and a small nod to get his ass in gear.

He glanced down at his tablet, thumbing a few buttons, before looking up at the detective and nodding. "It says we're close, most likely down one of those far doors."

"Alright, how are we supposed to get passed the security guards?" Caitlin asked, and flinched when she heard someone shout to start searching rooms. They were getting close. "We only have one gun, and two out of three people who don't know self-defense."

Joe looked puzzled for a moment, then gestured for them to head back into the main section of the room. "They're searching rooms, right? We'll be waiting."

The three hid behind one of the desks. Cisco scooted his leg from view just as they heard the door swing open. At least four voices filled the room.

The detective gave the two a small nod, then stood up, firing his gun. They traded shots, Joe going from standing to crouching, to standing. He took down three of the guards almost immediately, shooting their legs. The last guy managed to take cover behind one of the desks on the other side of the room. Joe walked steadily towards the man when he stopped to reload, and planned to shoot the second he stood.

One of the guards that hadn't been completely incapacitated when shot down, tripped the detective, causing the guard behind the desk to stand from the noise, and then shoot.

Joe let out a painful groan, clutching his shoulder when the bullet ripped through it.

The guard, Michaels, walked over to Joe, ready to finish the job, when Cisco stood. "STOP!" His mouth went dry realizing he had no idea what he was doing. Michaels glared, and aimed his gun at him. Cisco held up his tablet, and pointed to it. "See this? Yeah, this, my friend, can take down your entire server...with just a press of a button. So...so just...don't shoot him, an-and I won't...press it."

Michaels chuckled, and cocked his head to the side. "You're patheti-"

And the distraction gave Joe just enough time to sweep the man's leg and knock him to the ground. Caitlin grabbed the tablet from Cisco's hand, and slammed it into Michael's head, successfully knocking him unconscious. Joe cuffed all four of them, then ripped a piece of his jacket to tie off his arm and slow the bleeding.

"We'll fix that up when we get out of here, Joe," Caitlin assured.

Cisco knelt down and took the guns from the guards' holsters, passing one to Caitlin and Joe. "Might I make it known that the last time I shot one of these, my foot paid for it."

"That's reassuring."

"Come on," the detective said, "follow my lead, and keep a clear head."

-ooo-

"They're here, Flash! We're gonna get out of here!"

Barry nodded briefly, and braced his hands against the wall. The urge to move, to connect with the speedforce again was as strong as his need to breathe. It echoed the feeling of bottled up anger, how it would cause his chest to tighten and his teeth to ache, only this was bottled up energy, not anger. And he was so focused on that, that he didn't realize Iris was standing there, staring.

"It'll be over soon."

"I know."


	16. Recovery

**Another shoutout, and this one goes to AngelOfThursday67. So, so sorry I didn't include you last time! You have also been such a huge motivator. Love you so much!**

Iris exhaled a long breath of air and dropped her head against the back of the couch. She rubbed her hand, the throbbing in it starting to die down, but still prominent enough to irritate her—a strong left hook unfortunately came with consequences.

She lifted her phone in front of her face, squinting a little from the bright light in the dark living room. She was hoping to see a note on her blog from The Flash telling her he was recovered, that his team got the cuff off of his ankle and he could heal. She also hoped to see a text from Barry, some sort of sign that he was out there. She would start looking for him tomorrow when she was well-rested.

The feeling of a weight dropped to the pit of her stomach, tears burned her eyes. She felt like the worst human ever at the moment. Barry wasn't on her mind enough considering the circumstances.

Keeping in mind what she had just been through, though, she tried to cut herself some slack.

"Baby," Joe said softly, breaking Iris' train of thought, "you need to get some rest. You just got back." He set a mug down of what Iris could only assume was tea, and took a seat beside her.

The reported shook her head slowly. "I'm okay, dad, really. Nothing really happened there. You made sure of that."

" _We_ did. Flash team helped."

Iris gave an amused scoff. "Right. I forgot considering I never actually saw them."

Joe gave her a stern look. "You know why that is."

Iris grit her teeth, working her jaw. She shook her head slowly and narrowed her eyes. "I don't see why I can't know, dad! This is getting ridiculous." Iris was spending so much time with the man, it was only fair she knew who he was. Hell, she even kissed him! Sure, it wasn't the most romantic kiss ever, more of a heat of the moment sort of thing, but her point still stood.

The detective sighed and dropped his head. "You know why _that_ is as well," he said in a strained voice. Iris was constantly nagging him about this. It especially got worse after she learned that he knew who The Flash was under that mask.

"To _protect_ me? You're still going with that excuse after everything that just happened!?"

Joe shook his head and muttered, "I told him to stay away from you, but he can be stubborn." He exhaled. "Listen, Iris. Things could have been a lot worse. Do you know how many times in the past your life would have been in danger if a bad guy knew you were connected to The Flash? If they knew you knew his identity?"

Iris took in a sharp breath of air, irritated. Deciding she wasn't going to keep fighting about that, she switched to a different topic. "Tell me how I know his teammates."

She could have sworn Joe paled. Good. She hit the nail right on the head.

This was something that had been bugging Iris for a long time, ever since that time in the alley when she recognized their voices. She dropped it for a long while and eventually sort of forgot about the whole thing. They were probably some acquaintance she had talked to on the job. But judging by the way her father's jaw was hanging open, she figured maybe it was something more.

"Wha-what do you mean?" he rasped. Joe rearranged his facial expression to a look a little less freaked and a little more composed.

Iris took a sip from her tea, which was already starting to grow cold. She set it down and crossed her arms. "Flash, when he was battling that water meta a few weeks back, passed out in an alley. I thought it best to tell his team, and in doing so I learned they knew my name. I recognized their voices. The woman claimed she only knew because of the constant rendezvous The Flash and I have, but she is a terrible liar to be frank."

Joe sputtered a bit, then closed his eyes for a moment. "I don't know what to tell you, Iris. I certainly didn't know them when we first started working together, so you probably don't either," he lied. "I don't know, maybe you shared a conversation with them at Jitters, or…"

"Wow," she scoffed. Iris pushed herself up from the couch. "You are a terrible liar, too, you know."

Joe stood as well, ready to follow his daughter, but she bolted up the stairs. From the top, he heard her yell, "We're going to get Barry back tomorrow."

-ooo-

"How have you not seen the Harry Potter movies!? That's like saying...someone has never seen...well, THE HARRY POTTER MOVIES!" Cisco yelled, throwing his hands up in the air.

Caitlin watched him, amused at his antics. He stopped abruptly and pointed his index finger in her direction. "Okay, we're having a Harry Potter movie marathon tonight, _no_ exceptions!" The engineer crossed his arms then, tapping his foot impatiently on the ground. Caitlin took it as her cue to respond.

"Alright, Cisco! Calm down before you give yourself an aneurysm!" The half-worried doctor gestured at the chair next to her.

The engineer sat with a huff and folded his arms across his chest like a petulant child. "Barry would understand."

Caitlin bit her lip, their gaze settled on the man sleeping in the medical bay. Getting the power dampening cuff off of his leg was the hardest thing to take care of for the two, other than that he just had to get cleaned up and bandaged and get some rest. Cisco had to come up with a corrosive that would eat through the special metal, since tools didn't work.

He had been asleep for a few hours now.

"What...would I understand?" A groggy voice said, and the doctor stood, a small smile on her face. Cisco straight up ran into the room, grinning and everything.

"Hey, man!" he laughed, patting his friend's leg. "Welcome back."

Being Barry, his first instinct was to push himself up with his elbows. Normally Caitlin would be against it, but Barry's injuries were already almost healed up.

He squinted his eyes from the bright light, and Caitlin took that as a sign to dim them a little. "How long have I been out?"

Cisco shrugged. "Few hours. It's ten at night right now," he said, glancing at his watch.

Barry nodded, taking that information in.

"How are you feeling, Barry?" Caitlin asked, peeling up his shirt to look at his wounds. They were already starting to scab over.

The speedster dropped his head to the pillow and exhaled, then threw an arm over his eyes. "Much better without that cuff on me." He looked back up at the two. "How's Iris?"

Caitlin smiled. "Resting. She's alright. Mostly just a little battered."

Cisco decided to change the subject then. "Barry, guess what this girl hasn't seen?"

The speedster chuckled at how loud Cisco was being, before looking at Caitlin, who was shaking her head in amusement. "Uh, what would that be?"

"Harry Potter." Cisco enunciated every syllable.

Barry whipped his head to the left to look at the doctor. She was now blushing profusely at all the attention. "You really don't have a life, do you?" He laughed, and the doctor narrowed her eyes playfully.

Caitlin placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Go back to bed, Barry. You're healing has been slowed from the cuff. You need the rest."

Barry shook his head immediately. "No. No, I need to see Iris."

"That is definitely not going to happen." The voice from the cortex drew the three friend's attention in that direction. Joe was standing there, arms crossed. He closed the distance between them, stopping on the right of Barry's bed. "Good to see you awake, Bear."

The speedster nodded, then furrowed his eyebrows. Joe continued before Barry could ask any questions.

"How suspicious is it going to look if you show up right after The Flash returns?"

Realization dawned in Barry's eyes, and Cisco and Caitlin suddenly looked nervous. The engineer had occupied himself with fiddling with a syringe, which Caitlin snatched from his hands almost immediately, she herself then awkwardly stood to the side of the room.

"The Flash hasn't just been missing-" Barry started.

Joe sighed, and finished for him, "-so has Barry Allen."

"Shit," he muttered, and ran a hand through his hair. "She must be worried."

Joe cocked his head from side to side, then nodded slowly. "That's an understatement. She's been freaked all week. Iris never mentioned it to The Flash while you two were...you know?"

Barry furrowed his eyebrows for a moment, then swiped a hand down his face. "Yeah, you know what, she did. Must have...slipped my mind. So, what's the game plan? Stage a kidnapping for me?"

Cisco stepped forward then, interrupting whatever Joe was about to say. "Why not just show up? Say...I don't know...you were working some stuff out?"

"Iris did think you were just upset with her? Maybe you can say you were just...I don't know...staying with Cisco to try and figure some stuff out?"

Barry cringed. "How am I supposed to get away with not calling you guys? If I had done that, don't you think I'd let you two know?"

Caitlin shrugged. "Doing a walkabout? Trying to clear your head, figure things out with yourself? You generally go in areas with zero cell service on those things, right?"

Barry nodded thoughtfully, and Joe sighed. "We'll figure out the details tomorrow. I'm exhausted."

The detective smiled and patted the speedster's cheek. "Glad you're okay."

-ooo-

Iris stood up from her laptop, getting ready to take a break from all of the research she had been doing over the past day and a half. Really, she didn't have much to go off of. The only evidence on where Barry could possibly be included an inconclusive blood sample that a CSI had ran and possible security footage of the direction Barry went in when he left the precinct.

She needed help.

And she knew who to go to.

-ooo-

"Barry! Dude, you overshot it by six blocks. That's so five months ago!" Cisco earned a glare from Caitlin at his remark. Apparently _humor_ wasn't allowed when Barry was heading into possible danger. And really, a robbery wasn't exactly _danger_ for The Flash, considering.

" _Sorry, kind of excited to be back on my feet."_

Caitlin leaned forward into the mic. "That's okay, just be careful."

" _I think I'm good, Cait. This guy's got nothing against The-WHOA! Holy shit!"_

"Barry? Talk to us, what's going on."

The speedsters breathing suddenly quickened. " _Okay...I take back what I said. This guy's a meta."_

Cisco leaned back in his chair, exasperated. "Great. We can't just have a normal-"

"Guys?"

Cisco and Caitlin spun around in their chair, the engineer slamming his hand onto the keyboard, praying he pressed the button that would shut down the electronics system. He suddenly thanked his laziness for keeping that feature in, even after Caitlin became more okay with the idea of the two pairing up to help with petty crimes in secret. There was a click of static that said the screens shut off, and he let out a breath of relief.

Caitlin jumped to her feet, sending Cisco a panicked glance before addressing the woman in front of her. "Iris! What are you doing here?"

The reporter slung her purse over her shoulder and took in a deep breath. "I need your help."

And suddenly Cisco remembered the last time he had to shut everything down when Caitlin walked in, sometime around their second week. The screens may have shut off, but the comms didn't. It's what gave him away then. He scooted his chair subtly towards the microphone and prayed whatever trouble Barry was in, he wouldn't be yelling for their help in the next minute or so.

 **Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me, I know my updates have been a little sporadic, but I'll try to get back on track, so *raises wine glass* here's to hoping!**


	17. I'm Here

The reporter furrowed her eyebrows at the two people in front of her. They were acting strange, or rather, strang _er_. She tried to attribute it to the fact that she hadn't seen them in months, and suddenly, she just showed up, but there was something more.

Caitlin shifted her weight nervously on her feet, trying to think of something to say besides the usual and suspicious line movies use _: What are you doing here?_

Cisco grimaced. He was awkwardly sitting in his chair, one arm outstretched across the desk. Normally, the microphone was kept in the middle, but Caitlin started to become a bit of a hog when it came to who got to talk to Barry.

She decided that her input was more helpful than Cisco's unneeded humor. Though, in a conversation between the speedster and engineer during one of their movie nights, Cisco learned that Barry preferred the light-hearted commentary as opposed to her stern reprimands about him doing things recklessly. That didn't matter at the moment, though. What mattered was that Iris was staring him down, a suspicious look in her eyes.

He sent Caitlin a subtle, but just as panicked glance. Her eyes widened. Immediately, she understood that there was more to Cisco's panicking than what _she_ was worried over—he never listened to her when she told him to get rid of that feature in the system. And back when she was against Barry going out to save people, he and Cisco would team up secretly to pull missions. The second she entered the cortex, Cisco would click a key on the keyboard that shut down all of the electronics.

All but the microphone, which was a flaw in his haste to get the feature working.

That added on to Caitlin's fear that Barry would speed in here, cowl down. The doctor slowly edged backwards to the mic while Cisco took care of the talking. She could just play it cool, act like she just needed to press a button, who cared about a button anyways? But Iris was always curious... _and intuitive_. She would want to know.

The engineer pressed a fist to his mouth for a moment, then dropped it to his lap. "Y-you said you...needed, uh, our help?"

Iris nodded, glancing over at Caitlin. Was she not supposed to notice the doctor's fishy movements towards the console? She brushed it off, deciding Barry was more important.

Caitlin clicked the button with an unintentionally loud exhale of relief, then plopped down in her chair. Her next step was to notify Barry not to come over there. She slipped her hand into her pocket to grab her phone, but her hand only met fabric. She whipped her head around behind her. It had to be on the desk, right?

 _Wrong._

"Yeah. It's...Barry," she said, and decided to take a step forward.

Cisco involuntarily jumped back in his chair. He looked over to Caitlin and winced, just now noticing she was trying to get his attention.

She was pointing down at her pocket, then to his.

"Guys?" Iris interrupted their silent communication, and Cisco snapped his head to look at her. A bead of sweat tickled the back of his neck.

He had been scared before, sure, but there was something a lot more frightening about the idea that Barry could have blown his cover just now.

He tried to shake the tense feeling in his shoulders. It was okay now, though. They turned off the comms. She wasn't going to—

His breathing picked up, a thought striking him. He looked back over at Caitlin, who was pointing at his pocket again, and he laid a hand over it, feeling his phone through the material of his jeans.

They needed to tell Barry not to come back here.

He wondered for a moment why Caitlin wasn't doing it, but he settled with the idea that she had just left her phone somewhere out of reach.

"Barry? What about him?" Caitlin suddenly replied, drawing Iris' attention to her.

Iris nodded, tears started to sting her eyes. "He...he's gone. Missing." She swiped her hands across her cheeks to dry them. "The CCPD is at a dead end."

The doctor cursed her terrible ability at acting. She could only use the real panic she was feeling to make her surprise at the news seem genuine. "Oh…?"

Cisco pulled out his phone. "Sorry, I have to...check...something." His attempt at playing it cool backfired terribly. Iris narrowed her eyes, obviously offended. Yeah, he shouldn't be occupying himself with his device when Iris just said that his friend was missing. He decided that didn't matter as much. He pulled up Barry's contact and keyed in a text.

"Are...you sure?" the doctor continued.

"It's been almost two weeks, Caitlin! I'm sure!" the reporter snapped, startling all three of them. A small flutter of guilt filled her chest, but she brushed it away. Barry mattered more than their feelings.

"And...you—the police can't find anything?"

Cisco winced at Caitlin's attempt at stalling. She needed to think smarter. Iris had already confirmed the CCPD had hit a dead end.

The engineer finished his text, pressing send with a huff of relief.

 _ **iris here. dont come**_

Now they could deal with Iris.

"Yes! I don't know what else to— _what is up with you two!?_ " Iris raised her eyebrows, anger welling up in her chest. They didn't seem the least bit fazed. " _Barry,_ your _friend_ is missing! He could be _dead_!"

Caitlin stood up to place a hand on Iris' shoulder, but the reporter flinched back, glaring.

"You know something." She didn't even say it as a question. She _knew._

"Yeah, they do."

Iris froze, her eyes widening. She slowly turned around to meet the familiar voice.

 _Barry_.

-ooo-

She didn't have time to be angry, didn't have time to be relieved, happy, or worried. She didn't have time to process anything except for the fact that the man she cared deeply for, the man who had been missing for much too long, was standing in the cortex entryway, an awkward smile at the corner of his lips. He was _okay_.

Iris slapped a hand to muffle the choked cry that escaped her lips, then ran over to him and flung her arms around his neck, sudden enough to catch him off balance. Barry slammed a hand against the wall to stabilize himself, then reciprocated the hug with equal fervor. He snaked one arm around her waist, his other going up to cradle her head, fingers tangling in her hair.

Iris didn't say anything, she kept her face buried in the crook of his neck, small sobs wracking her body. Barry took this time to look up at his friends, who were stunned into silence. Cisco's mouth was slightly agape, Caitlin was frozen with her hands splayed in front of her in a what-the-hell-are-you-thinking stance.

And much to the speedster's chagrin, those were the words Caitlin mouthed only moments later.

He mouthed back, _I got this_ just as Iris pulled back slightly.

She cupped his face, shaking her head slowly. He met her gaze and tried another smile, just as she started to glare, her breathing quickening. "Barry Allen! Why the hell did you do that to me!?" Suddenly his arm became her punching bag, then she grabbed his shoulders and pushed him back slightly, taking him in as though she had to confirm he was really there.

"Iris, I can—"

She cut him off by pulling him back into her arms and giving him another bone-crushing hug. "Barry, you're here," she whispered, voice cracking.

This time it was Barry's turn to pull away, much to Iris' dismay. "Iris," he paused for a moment to make sure she was going to listen. Judging by the way she wouldn't take her eyes off of him, he assumed he had her attention. "Iris, I can explain, alright? I'm fine, nothing bad happened to me. I left on my own volition."

"Barry…" Caitlin warned, taking a step forward. Cisco joined her side.

The speedster continued, not giving his friends' worry a second thought. "And before you get mad, hear me out."

The reporter nodded slowly, not looking like she was fully processing his words. She seemed too dazed. His sudden appearance caused something inside her to twist funny, though who wouldn't react this way? She thought the worst of what could have happened. It was certainly a strange turn of events for him to show up with a smile, telling her he did this willingly. Or maybe that wasn't what was going through her mind. Maybe she had so many emotions going through her, she couldn't process everything at once. Didn't matter. She stayed silent as Barry explained, her hands gripping his upper arms as though if she let go, he would disappear again.

"I needed to...uh, take some time for myself."

"W-why didn't you call?" To the three friends' immense relief, Iris didn't sound angry, more...disappointed. "You had Joe and me worried sick! I was...I couldn't sleep, Barry! I didn't know where the hell you were, or what happened to you! I contemplated the idea that you might have _died,_ Barry!" Heat started to rise in her voice, she shoved his shoulders, her eyes narrowing. "Why the hell didn't you call me!?"

Barry froze.

"Oh, _shit!_ " Cisco exclaimed suddenly, slamming his palm to his forehead. He successfully startled everyone. "I am so, _so_ sorry! Barry, I—I completely forgot! I know you told me to tell everyone."

Caitlin cringed at his over dramatization. At least he was going with the lie. With Cisco's voice louder and an octave higher, she nudged his side with her elbow to get him to take it down a notch. The last thing any of them needed was for someone to hint at the possibility that what Barry was saying was false.

The speedster gave Cisco a look of grace, then continued. "Iris…" He reached for her hands, and to his surprise, she didn't pull away. She seemed to only soften a bit to his touch. He inhaled a sharp breath of air, looking between Caitlin and Cisco for a moment before returning his attention back to the reporter. "After our _fight,_ " he felt Iris tense at the reminder, and he tightened his grip on her hands, then tilted his head so she would look at him again, instead of her shoes. "I needed to be away from it all. I—I asked Cisco to let you guys know. I couldn't bring myself to do it. I needed space. I knew if I called, you would persuade me to come home." She turned to look at the engineer, who was standing there awkwardly. Barry turned her body back to face his. "And _please_ don't be mad at them. They make mistakes, just like I do."

The reporter nodded, another tear slid down her cheek, then slowed just enough so that Barry could brush it away with his thumb. "I'm so sorry," she whispered when things had quieted down.

Barry furrowed his eyebrows, concern and confusion written on his features. "What for?"

Her lower lip trembled, she sucked in a few shaky breaths then turned her head to look at Caitlin and Cisco. "C-can we...get a minute?"

They stood there, looking like they didn't know what to do with themselves, so Iris took this as her cue to pull Barry out of the cortex. He followed without argue. She stopped them halfway down the hall.

"Bear, when...when we fought—"

"Iris, it's okay."

"No please! I need to say this! I spent weeks wishing I'd get the chance to. Now's my chance. I don't know when I'll get another one."

Barry didn't think her comment was meant to be another jab at him, but the implication still stung. _I don't know when we'll talk again, since you've been so closed off..._

"I did mean what I said before— _but_ , I've had time to think it over, and I wasn't being understanding enough." She cupped his face in her hands, making sure that it got through to him that she absolutely meant what she was saying. "You were in a _coma,_ Bear." Her voice cracked. She hated that word. "You have every right to be distant. I understand if you're trying to work things out on your own, it just hurts that you're not talking to me anymore." Her lip trembled. "You used to talk to me, Barry."

He sighed, his chest constricting. She didn't seem to have anything else to say, so he met her glistening, chocolate brown eyes, and leaned in slightly, not missing the way her breath hitched. "Iris, when I was...away, I had the time to think things over— _us_ over. And you're right, I have been keeping things from you, and I _have_ been distant, and I have been pushing you away." He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled that heart-melting smile. "But that's done with. I'm ready to be your Barry again."

"God, I missed you so much," she whispered, and he beat her to the hug. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to his chest. Savoring every moment as they swayed there on their feet.

A minute didn't seem like nearly long enough, but they reluctantly broke apart. She took his hand in hers and stepped to his side, smiling up at him. "Home?"

"Yeah, home," he grinned and kissed her cheek.

-ooo-

"Dad?"

"Joe?"

Barry and Iris called, looking around their house to find him. Barry ran up the stairs as Iris walked into the kitchen, then they both met up by the couch with the consensus that he wasn't home, yet. Iris pulled out her phone, her assumption that he had tried to call had been correct. She checked the text that he had also sent her just a few minutes ago and read it aloud.

"He says he's gonna be working late on a case," she said, and pocketed her phone. She looked at Barry, and couldn't help but stare. He was _home_. And better yet, he was acting like himself. He still looked a little tired, his hair was mussed, and light bags colored the underneath of his eyes, but for the first time in forever, she saw his smile—a genuine smile. Her heart fluttered as a grin crept to his face.

"What?"

"I just...missed this."

He raised his eyebrows. "You missed...standing in our living room?"

"No, Bear. You know what I mean. You're _you_." She extended her arms, and he gladly accepted her need for another hug.

"I missed this too," he whispered against her hair.

She smiled and looked up at him. "So, wanna do something since my dad isn't going to be home? Catch up?"

-ooo-

"Alright!" Iris cheered, clapping her hands together, "we gotta have a West-Allen traditional sleepover, only this time, the drinking won't be underage."

Barry huffed an amused laugh, and raised an eyebrow. "Iris West, are you suggesting we get drunk and eat brownies?"

She giggled. "Yes!"

"You realize we haven't had one of these sleepovers since we were eighteen, right?" he asked, smirking as she stood on her tiptoes to reach the brownie mix in the top cabinet. He decided to reach over her and grab it. Once the box was on the counter, he turned to look at the reporter again, waiting for her response.

She laughed and nodded quickly, looking so very childish and adorable. Barry really did miss this. "Yeah, so? I think now is a good time to bring it back!"

He was about to be all in on the idea, ready to have an immense amount of laughter and fun with Iris, as the sleepovers always brought, but a thought struck him mid-agreement, and he paused. One of his hands reached up to rub the back of his neck, suddenly nervous and very distraught. Being a speedster was great, it really was, but nothing good comes without consequence, and one of the lesser, but just as equally annoying consequences included the inability to get hammered.

His sudden change in mood didn't escape Iris' critical eye—her bright smile faded. "What's the matter?"

Barry raised his eyebrows, playing cool. "Nothing. Just had a thought."

Iris pulled out a mixing bowl, then glanced back up at her friend. "Do share."

He shrugged. "Nothing. I...uh, just don't remember the last time I actually had alcohol."

She furrowed her eyebrows, trading glances between him and the instructions on the box. "What are you on about? We had drinks a few months ago— _wow._ "

"Uh huh."

"Wow, yeah, it's been a while."

"That's an understatement," Barry muttered to himself, then made his way to pick up his ringing phone on the countertop opposite of him.

Iris grabbed a pair of scissors and cut the bag, she looked over at Barry as she emptied the contents into a bowl. "Who is it?'

Barry glanced her way, but seemed more focused on what the person on the other end was saying. "Yeah, and? No. Seriously, guys, I'm...you know what, I'll just call you back. I'm busy. _I'm busy, Cisco! Sheesh._ " The speedster chuckled and pocketed his phone, and Iris smiled.

"I'm assuming they're happy to have you back?"

"Oh, like you wouldn't believe," Barry threw his hands up in the air and shook his head slowly. His gaze landed on the pile of flour and other dry ingredients that was beginning to accumulate by the side of the mixing bowl. Iris wasn't exactly paying attention to how well she was pouring it in. She was so busy focusing on Barry.

 _He was home._

"I can believe it," she replied, smiling up at him. He stepped beside her and opened his mouth to respond. She was ready for some silly quip, but instead he settled on a grin and then looked back down at her hands clumsily working with the bag. He frowned.

They were trembling.

"I-Iris, what's wrong?"

"Hm?" she glanced down and noticed the flour everywhere _and her hands_. She put so much effort into not shedding any tears, but she didn't think about other tells that would give her true feelings away. Because she was ecstatic to have him home, but she was just now starting to process the idea of him not coming back to her, just like she had to do when he was laying on that bed for nine months. She was hurting so much inside.

He seemed to read her so well. Iris didn't have to respond for him to understand. He locked eyes with her, and she felt his strong hands clasp around hers, bringing them away from the floury mess and to his chest, right where his heart would be. She felt the comforting _thump thump thump_ beneath his shirt.

"It's still beating. I'm _here_ , Iris."

She nodded, feeling the most grounded she had in so many months. "I know."

" _I'm here._ "


	18. The Flash(er)

"Here you go, Miss West," Barry said, scooping a brownie from the metal tray and plopping it on her plate. He hissed when his fingers hit the still hot pan.

Iris rolled her eyes and smiled. "Still as clumsy as ever, I see."

Barry spun around, halting in his mission to get the best spot on the couch: the cushion that somehow was still the fluffiest despite the multiple years of ass it had to endure. "Listen here, missy…" he began, a smile creeping up on his lips.

Iris placed her hands on her hips. "I'm listening."

"I'll have you know that I am very _not..._ clumsy. I am very _un...clumsy_." He winced at his awkward word choice, somehow wondering if he had just proved the woman's point.

Iris cocked a brow. "Oh, yeah? Last I checked you couldn't even write your own name without the pencil lead snapping."

Barry set down his plate of brownies. "Oh, yeah? Last I checked that was _you._ "

"The last you checked was in grade seven, and that was _one time!_ "

Barry smirked, seemingly satisfied with himself that he had successfully irked her. "Then when would the last time be for me? Hm? I've learned some things. I can assure you I ain't that clumsy anymore."

Like, come on, he was the Flash! If he had the misfortune of clumsiness whilst running at mach too-high-of-a-number-to-count, he'd be skinning his knees left and right.

"Damn," Iris hummed, making her way into the living room, "I gotta feel bad for your future girlfriend. Will you be able to carry her to the bedroom, or will you end up smashing y'all's head into the wall and passing out?"

Barry choked on his milk at her sudden insinuation, his cheeks heating up. He had little time to recover from her words before she reached out a hand and swiped the milk from his top lip with her thumb, almost too slowly to be innocent. "Uh…"

She looked at him with round, innocent eyes, batting her eyelashes a few times for good measure. And then she popped her thumb into her mouth and sucked it clean.

Barry gulped. "No, for the record, I wouldn't carry her. I'd make her carry me."

Iris huffed a laugh, biting into her brownie. "Sure you would. No one can carry that beanpole of a body you got there, I hate to tell ya, Bear."

Barry grinned and shifted to face Iris a little better. "Fine, but I can assure you, that I would be smooth as hell with my next conquest."

It was Iris's turn to sputter, successfully coughing up some brownie crumbs into her lap. " _Conquest?_ Did the Barry Allen I know become a fuckboi while on his little walkabout?" she mused, eyebrows raised.

"That's right. I'm a master with the lips, hips, and tip."

Iris's jaw dropped, Barry cackled and slapped a hand against the armrest of the couch. "You filthy boy." She couldn't prevent her own giggle, still staring in shock. Wasn't he supposed to be pure of heart? Did Iris even know what he was like to begin with when it came to anything sex-related about him?

"You don't believe me?" Barry questioned, humor still lacing his words. He briefly wondered what the hell he was on about, but he found he wanted to keep going.

Iris crossed her arms, seemingly willing to challenge him back. She tilted her chin up in her attempt to feign snobbishness. "Frankly, Mr. Allen, I do not."

"That is the worst posh British accent I think I've ever heard," he laughed, then scooted closer. "Tell me, Iris, why don't you?"

Iris stuttered, and Barry detected the slightest hint of a blush on her warm cheeks. "W-well, for...starters, you're _clumsy_ …"

He threw his head back in exasperation. "For the love of shit, Iris, I'm _not_ clumsy!"

"You're _unclumsy?_ "

"Okay"—Barry shot out a finger—"you can't use my bad choice of words against me because you're a reporter and that's an absolute bitch move, and let me tell you, _West_ ," Barry huffed, leaving forward, "I _am unclumsy_."

Iris narrowed her eyes and leaned closer as well, their faces a hair's breadth away. "Oh, yeah? Prove it."

Barry's gaze dropped to her lips, his chest rising and falling rapidly now, worked up from both their banter and something more now. "I don't know…" he whispered, something cocky in his tone, "you're a reporter, I wouldn't want you to lose your voice…"

The innuendo made Iris gasp the slightest bit, her thighs pressing together. She moistened her lips, a smirk crossing them when she vaguely registered Barry tracking the movement.

"Hm, that would be a problem. I guess you won't be able to prove yourself, and I'll just have to forever believe I'm right."

"Iris..." Barry murmured, distressed, "what are you doing to me?"

She once again feigned innocence, briefly wondering how many times she could get away with batting her eyelashes before it looked like she had something in her eyes. "I don't know, what am I doing to you?"

Barry grabbed Iris's hand and smashed it against his long, hard, throbbing, COOOOOO—

"Meow," Iris meowed, her eyes becoming slits. "Can I pet it, Barry?"

He smirked, ripping off his jeans with one quick motion from his superhuman strength and producing the long, hard, throbbing COOOOOO—

They fucked real good, and Barry's penis vibrated inside her so she found out he was The Flash. But it was okay because his dick was too good for her to get irrationally bitchy like she always did.


End file.
